Unquiet Spirit
by friendlyquark
Summary: Magiranger Tsubasa lost his true love, Rei. Yet, when Urara casts a spell from an old book, he meets a girl with a familiar smile. OT/OC A sequel of sorts, to my earlier story Farmer and the Tree Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One - Unquiet Spirit

She had been having the same dream for as long as she could remember. As a child it had frightened her, the feeling of being pursued by a monster through the woods was so real and so terrifying. As she grew older, the sadness of the dream was what affected her the most. She would wake from the dream weeping and filled with a terrible sense of loss.

Sometimes she would have it night after night for a week, other times she wouldn't have it for months. It was agonizing, heart-wrenching, and yet, for some reason the nights that she didn't dream were almost worse. Any night that he didn't come to her, doves rising up in alarm at his intrusion, was a night she felt cheated.

She didn't know who he was, the boy in the yellow jacket, but she lived for the nights that she dreamt of him, even though they tore her heart in two.

Tsubasa slammed his fist into the punching bag and watched it shudder from the blow. Jun-Sensei, his trainer, made an approving noise, but didn't tell him to stop so he kept on. Fists hammering into the bag, his breath starting to come fast, sweat pouring down his back, he put his full energy into his imaginary opponent.

He kept winning fight after fight. He was the bantamweight champion right now and at the top of his game. He had money, fame, and had achieved his cherished dream. He ought to be incredibly happy.

And yet…

He still thought about her, still dreamed about her, he missed her smile, her voice, the feel of her hand in his. He had girls throwing themselves at him and all he could think of was Rei. She was all that he wanted and she was dead and gone.

It made everything else seem flat and lifeless. She had told him to live; to live for both of them, but it was so hard sometimes.

He pounded out his grief into the punching bag, venting his feelings in the safest place he knew. He wanted to live again, but he just wasn't certain that he could do it without her.

Urara wandered through the library at Magitopia with an uncertain feeling. She loved being Hikaru's wife, she was happy to live here with him in the clouds, but she was worried. Her family was so far away and she had always, along with their mother, been the one to take care of everyone.

Aniki was getting married soon to his tree spirit and Urara was happy for him. Sakura-san seemed to truly adore her big brother and was utterly devoted to him. Kai was now seriously dating Yuka-chan and it looked as though things were going well. Those two brothers were happily paired off and she had no worries about either of their futures. Well, she was a trifle nervous about Aniki's wedding; she wasn't sure about the idea of a bunch of trees coming to the wedding.

But, that still left her with Tsubasa and Houka to worry about.

Houka was going to be difficult to deal with. She never seemed to settle on any one man for any length of time. Finding her a date was easy, but getting her to settle down was the hard part.

Then there was Tsubasa. For a long time, Urara had thought that her little brother was never going to fall in love, he was so cynical and sharp tongued. It wasn't until he had fallen for the ghost of the idol singer, Mamiya Rei, that she had understood the truth. Once he gave his heart it was forever and so he did not give it easily.

He was probably the most sensitive of her siblings, besides herself. He seemed to have an intuitive understanding of people's feelings that rivaled their mother's. She wanted more than anything to find him a girl he could love for himself. She wanted all her siblings to be as happy as she was, but Tsubasa most of all.

The problem was how to go about it.

Yumi sighed and watched the clouds drifting across the sky with a feeling of melancholy in her heart. The dream had woken her again this morning, tears on her face and the terrible feeling of loss that always came with it. She picked up the tea cup and sipped at it, letting the soothing warmth fill her up inside.

She always felt so cold in the dream; his hands were the only warmth that touched her in that place. She found herself flushing a little at the memory and set the tea cup down carefully in the saucer. She checked her watch and sighed again. She had to get moving or she would be late to her session.

She stood up and dropped the cup in the sink, then grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She paused and grabbed a scarf, wrapping it around her throat. She had always disliked the feel of fabric around her neck, but it looked a little chilly outside.

Tsubasa listened to his manager as he explained the strategy for his next round of matches. He had already beaten everyone in his weight class in Asia and Higa-san wanted him to start taking matches with European boxers.

"After that, we will try America, they have some good fighters there, but none like you!" Higa-san assured him and Tsubasa nodded his agreement. He was eager to try himself against the best in the world, he relished the challenge it would give him.

Higa-san was an ex-boxer himself, in the middle-weight division, and he still looked the part. His black hair was cropped short in a military cut, his nose was crooked from being broken so many times and he had a face that had hit too many fists in its time. Tsubasa had long ago decided that he would quit the ring long before he got to that stage and spend his life training younger boxers, but he was deeply grateful for Higa-san's experience. The man was an encyclopedia of past boxing lore.

"Humph, let's see how he does against Arakaki, next week, first." Jun-sensei interjected. If Higa was exuberance personified, talkative, loud and full of life, Jun was his exact opposite. Even in appearance they were each the antithesis of the other. Jun was thin and tall, ascetic in looks, like he would do well as a priest. He dressed in French-cuffed silk shirts, and beautiful suits, when he wasn't in a t-shirt and sweats for training, while Higa would wear his shirt collar unbuttoned and often forget his suit jacket.

"He'll do fine!" Higa-san assured him. "Hasn't he got the best trainer in Japan?" The hearty laugh that accompanied this, made Jun-sensei frown, but Tsubasa had to hide his own tiny smile. The two men were actually the best of friends, though it had taken him a long time to figure that out.

"Humph," Jun-sensei grunted and Tsubasa leaned back against the couch and let the sounds of their argument wash over him without really paying attention to it. He looked out the window and saw a cloud floating by in a pale blue sky and wondered if he would every have anyone to share that sight with.

Urara found the book finally but only after a long and determined search. She pulled it down and laid it out with some difficulty. It was very old and rather stiff, requiring a certain amount of coaxing to get it to open at all.

When she finally did have it spread before her, she found that the pages were heavy vellum and hard to turn. There was also no index, which made her snort in irritation. The dust that rose up at her exhalation choked her and she was soon coughing and waving her hand in front of her face.

When at last the dust had settled, she carefully began turning the pages. She really hoped that what she was looking for was in here.

Yumi's shoes clattered down the stairs as she ran for the door. It was just closing and she managed to snag it in time before it did. If she arrived at the studio on her own, she had to go through the long process of ringing the doorbell, identifying herself, and then being buzzed in. It wasn't too arduous, but it was time-consuming.

"Morning, Yumi-san," the receptionist caroled out to her as she strode by and she waved back with a smile. Her bag banged against her hip as she jogged down the hallway to the studio. She moved quickly, waving to various friends as she went, but not pausing today to chat.

"Kimura-san," intoned the disapproving voice of the Studio's head. "You are five minutes late." Checking her watch, and then looking at the clock on the wall showed that she was in fact three minutes early, but one didn't argue with Sato-buchō, especially when he was in a mood. Today, he was obviously in a mood.

"I'm sorry," she replied apologetically and bowed deeply to him. Without another word she slipped into the studio and went to the piano. Chi-chan, this year's latest idol, gave her a sympathetic smile and Yumi returned it.

Most years the girl was some spoiled talent-less bubble head, who needed a lot of "correction" by the engineers after the session was recorded, but Chi-chan was different. Yumi actually liked the other girl and her voice was excellent. Chi-chan was also always cheerful and funny. She was just turned seventeen and Yumi, being a lofty twenty felt a certain sisterly concern for her.

The rest of the musicians waited for the engineers to signal their readiness and then they launched into the seventh song on Chi-chan's new album. With her black hair in ringlets and an oversized white sweater, she looked more like twelve than seventeen, as well, which made it even harder not to like her. They exchanged another smile as they heard Sato-buchō chewing out an intern.

Yumi concentrated on her playing after that, letting herself fall into the music, melding her instrument with the others and letting the rest of the world just disappear.

Urara finally found the spell she had been looking for. With a slightly guilty feeling that she was meddling where she probably shouldn't, she pulled out her Magiphone and with a wave of her hand, she cast the spell.

Tsubasa pulled his jacket on and pushed through the door. The wind had picked up and it was getting a little blustery. Traffic was bad and he sighed, wondering if it were worth it to try and get a cab, or if walking would be faster. A tangle of cars up the road convinced him to forgo the cab in favor of a far less stressful trip.

Something sent a frisson of energy across his skin and he felt his heart speeding up for no reason that he could understand. Turning his head, he spotted the women crossing the street. The shorter one had a crepe in one hand and was laughing, head thrown back, her black ringlets bobbing. The other, slightly taller, woman had a smile he would have known anywhere.

The face was different, beautiful, but in a different way. Rei had been ethereally beautiful, with porcelain skin and sadness about her that drew one in. This girl had warmer colors and more pointed chin, she seemed more pixyish than angelic. Yet, he knew her, knew that somehow that girl was Rei.

She stepped forwards into the street and he heard rather than saw the car as it approached. Without thinking he ran forwards, throwing himself at her. He crashed into her, pushing her to one side as the red sports car zipped past, honking at them. She turned her face up to him and her mouth dropped open.

"You!" she cried out in shock and he grinned down at her.

"Hi," he said with a breathlessness that had nothing to do with his sprint across the pavement.

"Hi," she replied and they stood there a long moment, his arms still around her, their eyes locked together and they were both smiling at each other, as if there was no one in the world but the two of them.

"Oh wow! You're Lightning Fist!" squealed the other girl, breaking the moment. He suddenly realized that he was holding a complete stranger in his arms and released her immediately, jumping back in embarrassment. "I am a huge fan of yours!" the other girl continued. Now that he was closer he recognized her as a singer his little brother liked. Chi-chi, or something like that.

"Ah, great, thanks," he managed to articulate despite his embarrassment. What had he been thinking to just stand there like that?

"Lightning Fist?" asked the woman he had just rescued, her face blank.

"He's a famous boxer, Yumi-san!" Yumi, he repeated it over in his mind, her name was Yumi. He was smiling at her again, completely forgetting the other girl.

"I'm Ozu Tsubasa," he informed her and she smiled back.

"The boy in the yellow jacket," she murmured with a dreamy tone and he froze in shock. She suddenly blushed bright red and then clapped her hands over her mouth. "I mean, nice to meet you, I'm Kimura Yumi!" she corrected, but he knew what he had heard. Could she really be Rei? Could she somehow know him, the way that he knew her?

"I'm Chi-chan!" the singer put in, trying to draw his attention to her. He bowed politely to the two women.

"I'm pleased to meet you both," he assured them, but his eyes never left Yumi's.

She couldn't believe that she had just blurted that out, her humiliation was complete. Not only had she almost walked out into traffic and gotten herself killed, but she had acted like a complete idiot in front of him. It was just that seeing the boy from her dream just standing there, smiling down at her had made the whole moment seem utterly unreal.

"We're just getting out of a session recording," Chi-chan continued, chattering happily while the two of them stood there, tongue tied.

"Are you a singer," Tsubasa-san asked her. She laughed and shook her head.

"No, no, I write the songs and play on the albums, but I don't sing." She gestured to her friend. "I leave that to Chi-chan." He looked surprised at her admission and the dream returned to her. In it, she had been singing.

Of course, there was no way for him to know that, was there? He looked a little different and she was having a hard time figuring it out. Finally it hit her.

"You changed your hair!" she murmured and he blinked at her his face surprised.

"Do you like it?" he asked with a slightly insecure tone and ran a hand over it self-consciously.

"It suits you," she soothed and his smile came back, making her heart flutter again.

"Do you two know each other?" Chi-chan asked, suddenly looking between them with confusion. She opened her mouth and then closed it again, not knowing how to answer.

"Not really, but sort of," Tsubasa answered, looking as flustered and confused as she felt.

"I have to get home, I'll see you later, Yumi-san," Chi-chan murmured with a grin and then skipped off towards her car and driver. She shot a significant look at the two of them before she bounced off and Yumi was left staring up at the hawk-like visage of the young man who had haunted her dreams for so long.

Tsubasa noted the long black hair, the simple pleated skirt, black boots and turtleneck sweater with interest. She dressed with understated good taste, nothing flashy or shabby about her. Her eyes were wide and luminous, filled with curiosity and intelligence. Her pixie face was endearing and he found that he was deeply pleased to be just standing there beside her. She was studying him with equal intensity and he wondered what she was seeing as she looked at him.

"Would you like to get some coffee?" he asked, suddenly shy, wondering if he were a little mad. This girl looked nothing like Rei at all, except that she smiled her acceptance and he _knew_ that smile. It was like sun coming out from behind the clouds and it caused the exact same flip flopping of his heart.

He swung his bag up behind him and walked silently beside her towards the nearby café. He wasn't sure what to say to her, he just knew that he couldn't lose sight of her just yet. He had waited so long for Rei to come back into his life that it was just impossible to let her walk away from him just yet.

They sat down in the little iron chairs and ordered their coffee from a waitress that he barely even noticed. In fact, it seemed to him as though the entirety of the world had narrowed down to include only the two of them. The pale blue sky stretched above them both and together they watched the clouds pass by, both of them smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – Dreams and Music

Tsubasa banged into his apartment with the grin still on his face. He could barely remember what they had talked about, but it hardly seemed to matter to him just then. She had laughed at his jokes, they had smiled at each other and, most importantly, they had exchanged phone numbers.

"Kimura Yumi," he murmured to the empty room. With the feeling that his heart was going to fly out of his chest, he dropped his bag on the floor and threw his jacket across the couch. He pulled his Magiphone out of his pocket and stared at it for a moment. He debated calling Kai first, but quickly changed to calling his mother.

"Moshi-moshi," her voice caroled from the earpiece and he grinned just to hear the sound of it.

"O-kaa-san, I met a really wonderful girl today," he told her and her pleased response made him even happier. They talked for a while and it was wonderful just to be able to share his excitement with her.

Yumi stepped into her apartment with a feeling of unreality. She had dreamed of him only last night and now she had met him in the street. It didn't seem possible that he could really exist in the waking world. She spun in a circle, feeling giddy and lightheaded. She hung her scarf by the door and carried her bag over to the piano.

Settling down before the keyboard, she began picking out notes with a dreamy smile. While the feelings possessed her, she wanted to find a way to make them into music. She wanted to capture the way her heart was racing and her face was flushed and turn it into a song. Each note she searched for with her fingers became a moment, that little riff was his chuckle, throaty and full of a wry amusement. This little bouncy rill was the way his hands gestured as he talked. She wove his lop-sided grin, his uncertainty and shyness, his quick mind and sharp wit together and built a tune around it all.

She quickly had a melody and chorus fleshed out and words seemed to come to her of their own volition. She jotted down the notation and penned in the lyrics with a smile still on her face.

The phone was ringing and she started in surprise, so absorbed had she become. Jumping up she ran and grabbed the receiver form its cradle.

"Moshi-moshi!" she called out, rather breathless from her mad dash.

"Yumi-san!" Chi-chan's voice was full of eagerness and she found her mouth curling up as she heard it. "So, did the "Lightning Fist" ask you out?"

"What? Why did you call him that?"

"What? How can you not know? He's a famous boxer! I told you so before!" Chi-chan's exasperated tone wasn't lost on Yumi, but the term "boxer" made her pause. Tsubasa was a boxer? It seemed an odd choice for someone as smart as he was.

"You did, I remember, but I wasn't paying close attention, forgive me," she responded, trying to picture sweet, somewhat shy Tsubasa hitting someone in a ring. It was hard for her to imagine.

"So did he ask you out?" came the impatient idol singer's voice again, breaking into her reverie.

"Yes, yes, we went for coffee and he is going to take me for noodles tomorrow at lunch," she answered absently, more interested in replaying the memory of his arms around her than in talking to Chi-chan.

"That's fast! He must be really interested!" the younger girl replied with a gleeful tone. "I'm very happy for you, but try not to run off and get married before we finish the album, okay," the other girl teased.

"What? You're the one moving much too fast, Chi-chan! I only just met him today!" she cried out, suddenly feeling entirely off balance and nervous.

"Huh? You two talked like you had known each other for years!" Yumi heard the words and yet could find no answer to give that made any sense at all.

"It seemed that way, I admit, but really we only just met," she answered, trying to figure out in her head how you explained that you had known someone from a dream. She gave up and just listened for a while to Chi-chan's excited chatter.

"Now if we could only get that last song written," sighed the idol singer and Yumi looked down at the sheets in her hand.

"I may have something for you," she admitted and the thrilled little squeal from the earpiece made her chuckle. She wasn't sure how she felt about giving the song to Chi-chan, but she knew the other girl would do well with it. With a sigh, she wished that she could play it for Tsubasa-san first, but he would think it odd if she called him now to play a song for him.

She finished her conversation and then hung up the phone. She stood for a long time, watching the sun setting and thinking that her life had been turned upside down and she wasn't at all certain what to make of it.

In the dream she remembered singing for him, something that she doubted she could do in real life. Still, for her boy in the yellow jacket, she could do almost anything, she thought. Maybe she could do even that.

Urara had put the book back on the shelf and carefully tidied up after herself, but she still wondered if she had done the right thing. Maybe Tsubasa was better off without her meddling. Still, she shrugged, what was done was done.

Hopefully, Hikaru wouldn't be upset when he found out what she had been up to. She grinned a little at the thought. It was upsetting to fight with her husband, but making up afterwards was always wonderful. With a little spring in her step, she wandered off to see what he was up to.

Tsubasa woke the next morning feeling lighter and happier than he had in some time. It took him a moment to remember why, but then it all came flooding back and he jumped out of bed with a smile. He almost laughed at himself, realizing that he was acting more like Kai at the moment.

He stepped into the shower, the hot water soothing and let himself relive the moment. She had been stepping forwards into traffic and he had grabbed her. The feel of her in his arms had been delightful. She had felt like Rei had, in that moment before she vanished, but so warm and alive. Her scent was light and clean, soap, and sunlight, and something indefinable that was unique to Yumi alone.

He was smiling under the spray and he groaned. How was he to fight tonight when all he wanted to do was find Yumi and spend every second with her?

Lunch, they were having lunch, he recalled. He had training in the morning, but the afternoon was for resting up before the fight. He could spend it with her, then maybe she could come to the fight and then they could have dinner. Well, they could if he was up to eating afterwards. He snorted at the thought.

Toweling himself off, it occurred to him to wonder if she would want to see him fight. She wasn't the usual sort of girl that hung around at a boxing ring. Well, he supposed that the only thing that he could do was ask.

Yumi sat at the piano and played the new song for Chi-chan and the others. When it was just her friends and co-workers she could make herself sing, though it was hard. The terrible stage fright that gripped her when she sang for others made her voice sound reedy and thin. Still, the song was good and Chi-chan quickly picked it up and took over the singing, letting her concentrate on the playing alone.

"I like this!" Kawahashi-san enthused, his fingers plucking out a bass line, and the rest of the musicians all agreed. The Producer nodded slowly and gestured them to keep rehearsing the song. Yumi smiled in pleasure. She loved writing songs and she loved playing them, she was very happy not to have to sing them though. The fear and apprehension that gripped her made the experience much too unpleasant.

They had some tracks laid in by the time lunch rolled around and Chi-chan waved her out of the recording studio with a grin.

"Go and get yourself a "lightning" lunch," she quipped and Yumi stuck out a tongue in mock irritation, much to the idol singer's amusement.

Stepping out into the sunshine she looked around and spotted him by the fountain nearby, just as promised. A smile was blossoming on her face even as she walked towards him. It was like stepping into her dream, but without the feeling of sorrow and despair that usually came with her nighttime visits.

"Oy!" he called out and the smile became a grin. His voice was the same as it was in her dreams and she felt as though she had waited years just to be able to stride up to him and look into his eyes.

"Oy," she mimicked, still smiling. He grinned down at her, his eyes filled with humor and then as one, they turned and began to walk.

"There's a great little noodle shop two blocks down," he informed her and she nodded content just to be there with him, not really caring about where they went and what they did. They took off, side by side, not touching, just enjoying the day, when suddenly something made her shiver.

She spun on her heel, searching the area with her eyes and with that extra sense that told her when there was something wrong. Tsubasa paused beside her and followed her gaze with confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked, as she scanned around them.

"I don't know for sure, but something is off," she replied, with only half of her mind on the conversation. She continued turning until she could feel a cold wind blowing towards her. "That way," she pointed and then realized what she was doing.

There was a moment when she was certain that he was going to laugh, or make an excuse to leave, like so many others had. Instead, he merely nodded and headed in the direction she had indicated.

She could feel the icy blast getting stronger as they went forwards and wondered why she wasn't more afraid. She was nervous, of course, usually she ran away from anything that gave her this feeling. Tsubasa, however, had simply moved towards the source of her feeling and she had followed him without question.

They stepped into a park, trees waving gently in the soft breeze, flowers blooming and everything seemed too peaceful and pretty for there to be any evil. The icy wind seemed to be coming from the center, where a fountain played merrily under a warm sun. She pointed, feeling as though the cold was seeping into her bones and Tsubasa moved forwards, eyes moving back and forth. She flashed back to her dream, remembering how he had performed magic and she wondered if the dream was more than merely symbolic, because he seemed to be taking her premonition completely in stride.

There was a stirring in the trees and she cried out a warning to him as something shot out and tried to knock him down. Tsubasa dodged nimbly and the blur resolved into a slimy frog-like creature, with long webbed fingers and a huge grinning mouth.

"Yumi-san, take cover," he called to her and with a quick nod, she obeyed. She darted behind a tree and ducked down. When she peeked out again, a yellow suited warrior was fighting the monster and she knew then that her dream was far more than mere symbol.

The frog creature spat goo at Tsubasa, for she knew somehow that it was Tsubasa, and he tried to dodge. He managed to evade the worst of it, but his left side was caught in the stream. Coated down one side, in rapidly hardening muck, he was greatly slowed and Yumi's breath caught in her throat to see it.

He continued to fight, pulling a weapon from his belt and firing off bursts of lightning at the toad creature. She had to keep reminding herself to breathe as they traded blows. There was a flurry of exchanges and then suddenly Tsubasa was on his back, hand clutched to his shoulder. The creature took the opportunity to attack and Yumi gave a shriek of fear.

"Leave him alone!" she screamed and grabbed a rock from the ground. She chucked it at the monster, drawing it away from Tsubasa's prone form.

"Yumi!" he cried out, as the slimy beast charged her. She grabbed and chucked a second rock and then took to her heels. She knew she couldn't fight it, but she could at least draw it away from him for a moment.

There was another blast of lightning and the creature seemed to lift off of the ground and then explode. She threw herself to the ground and covered her head with her arms, terror making her heart stutter.

Hands gripped her and she looked up into Tsubasa's face.

"Is it over?" she asked, still winded and shaky.

"Are you crazy? That thing could have killed you!" he shouted and she found herself being shaken by him as he raged at her.

"He was going to kill you, did you want me to just stand there and let him?" she asked, far more calmly than she had imagined that she could. He stilled and just stared at her for a moment. Slowly a smile spread across his face.

"Crazy, definitely crazy," he told her, still smiling. He stood up and then reached a hand down to her. She looked up at him, with a strange feeling in her heart, like she had been here before. She took his hand and let him pull her to her feet.

"I knew you would be up again quickly, you just needed a moment," she told him and his smile faded to a more serious look. "What was that thing, anyway?"

"A kappa, I think. But, you're changing the subject. You shouldn't take such chances, Yumi-san," he scolded. "That was really dangerous."

"It was fine, you were right there to protect me," she reassured him and he shook his head slowly. "It's all right, Tsubasa-san, I have faith in you." His expression was unreadable and she wasn't certain what he was thinking.

"Then you remember your past life?" he asked and she blinked at him in confusion.

"What?" She stared at him, trying to divine his meaning.

"When we met, you said I was 'the boy in the yellow jacket"; I thought that meant that you remembered who you were." He shook his head as though to clear it.

"You were in my dream," she admitted feeling a certain degree of trepidation as she spoke. Would he think that she really was crazy?

"Dream?"

"For as long as I can remember I have had the same dream. I am sitting by a lake, playing a harp, singing, and I am terrified. It's so cold and I'm so scared, but I have to sing or something terrible will happen to me." She blurted it all out in nearly one breath, frightened to be telling him this.

"What happens next?" he asked, but there was something in his eyes that calmed her, he believed her, she could see it.

"You show up, the birds fly up in fright, and I am surprised and snap my finger against the harp string." He nodded as she spoke and then cut into her narration.

"So I checked your hand, but you weren't hurt." She froze, his words making her suddenly scared and she wasn't certain why.

"How did you know that?"

"Because it wasn't a dream, Yumi-san, it happened." She shook her head, unable to believe. Even after seeing him fighting as the yellow warrior, she still couldn't quite accept it. It was all so much like her dreams, but different. He was a little older than he had been, his hair was shorter, though he still bleached it lighter, and he seemed sadder and somehow wiser as well.

"How can that be?" she asked and now it was his turn to shake his head.

"I don't know. I just know that you are the same girl who played and sang by the water. The same girl I tried to save from the Siren." She shivered again at that name, fear gripping her just from the sound of it. She was suddenly so cold and shaky.

He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her as her teeth started to chatter.

"Why am I so cold?" she asked, as the day still seemed bright and sunny.

"You are in shock," he told her and put an arm around her. Tsubasa guided her out of the park and towards the nearest café. "Let's get something warm into you."

She sat there, huddled in his coat, feeling silly. Why was she reacting so strongly to what he had told her? So her dream had really happened at some point, so what? The waiter brought them tea and cookies and she cradled the cup in her hands with a feeling that nothing was ever going to be the same again for her.

"I don't understand, Tsubasa-san, but I will take it on faith, okay?" she told him, with a small smile and he nodded back at her. Maybe they were both crazy, she thought to herself. Maybe they were sharing a delusion or something of the sort. Whatever it was, it was certainly not what she was used to. She was used to being alone in her strangeness, not to having someone just accept it and not even blink an eye.

That sat at the café in silence for a while, each lost in thought, before she looked at her watch and sighed at the time.

"You have to get back?" he asked and she shrugged.

"Chi-chan is working on the new song this afternoon." She paused, not wanting to seem presumptuous and then plunged ahead. "You want to come and hear it?"

"Sure," he answered with a casual tone and she thought at first that he was only being polite in accepting, but then saw the tiny smile he was trying to hide behind the menu.

She took a sip of tea to hide her own smile and, glancing at his sharp profile, decided that whether or not they were crazy didn't matter so much to her. She was happier today than she had been in a long time and, if it was madness, then she no longer cared to be sane.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three – Fighting Chance

Tsubasa was certain that this was Rei-chan. The way that Yumi sat at the piano, the look on her face as she played, it was all the same, even if the face was a little different than before.

Yet, it seemed impossible that Rei could have died only two years ago and yet her next life could already be twenty years old. Was time so flexible? Did her soul fly back so far to find a new life? If so, then was it only to be with him, or was there more to it? It seemed arrogant to think that Rei would have arranged this all simply to be the right age to date Tsubasa. He had fallen hard for the dead girl, but had her feelings been the same?

In the last two years he had turned the brief time they had shared over and over in his mind until he could hardly be certain of anything. All he knew is that he had loved her, lost her, and now had seemingly found her again. But was it the same?

Yumi was Rei, but she was also uniquely herself. He couldn't imagine Rei picking up a rock and throwing it at a kappa. Rei had been gentle and rather fragile. Yumi also had a gentleness, but she was stronger, tougher, and more fierce than his memory of Rei. Still, how was he to know that for sure? He had met her after her death, in circumstances that could make anyone frightened and timid.

Rei had certainly stood up to Siren in the end, even knowing it would cost her more than just her life, knowing that she would lose her soul, her very being. That had been an incredibly courageous act. Where they in fact more similar than he knew?

His thoughts chased each other around in his head as the music rose and fell, as they played a few bars and then went back to polish it again. It was soothing to listen to, in a way. The musicians all working together to get the piece down and their struggles and compromises reminded him of his family.

Occasionally, someone would walk by the booth and look in, giving a comment or asking a question. But mostly it was this small group all to themselves, just making music. It was nice.

"So are you here to pick up Chi-chan?" asked one of the engineers with a bored look and Tsubasa shook his head. He was an old man, with white hair in a tuft around his head and fingers that were gnarled and worn, but which danced across the electronics, coaxing the knobs and sliders with a maestro's precision.

"I'm here for Kimura-san." It was a short statement, but it was starting to have more meaning for him. The engineer looked at him in surprise and then smiled in approval.

"You are here for our Yumi-chan, eh? You are smarter than you look," the elderly man informed him. "She is better than most of the silly children who prance through here. Her songs will be remembered long after most of these foolish idols are long forgotten." His words were sharp and censorious, his expression sour, but Tsubasa could feel his affection for the pianist underneath it all.

"Her songs?" he asked in surprise.

"Huh, maybe you aren't so bright, after all. Every song on this album was written by our Yumi-chan," he informed Tsubasa with a certain smug pride. "She was a prodigy, you know, playing, writing music, all before she was five. She was born with a real gift, that one." The bright black eyes were watching him with speculation and appraisal. "She's very special, boy."

"I know she is," Tsubasa agreed and the other man smiled a little at him. He was a gruff soul, but he obviously cared deeply about Yumi-san. The fact that Tsubasa took her seriously seemed to reassure the old engineer, but he still watched the younger man with a touch of suspicion.

"Hm, well, you take care of her then." Tsubasa was startled by the comment and turned to reply, but the man was grumbling into the studio mike and ordering the musicians to replay the last lines.

"Every moment that I breathe, I feel the sunshine flowing through my soul," Chi-chan sang and this time Tsubasa really listened. Yumi-san wrote this? "I dream of morning sun falling on my face," she continued. The melody was wonderful, full of light and laughter, yet with an undertone of something serious and sweet. "Every moment that you live brings possibilities of joy." The words were gentle and hopeful and he wondered what her inspiration for them had been.

He leaned forwards and listened to the words and the music, letting them carry him far away. The old engineer watched him with shrewd eyes and there was a twinkle in their depths that went entirely unnoticed by the entranced young man.

Yumi looked up at him in surprise.

"Go to your fight tonight?" she repeated, feeling rather more like a parrot than a girl. They had spent nearly the whole day together, surely he was getting bored of her by now, she thought. Yet, his eyes, guarded as they were, held a sort of hopefulness as well. He really wanted her to come. "Of course, I would be happy to," she answered, completely unable to say no to him, when his eyes had that look in them.

He smiled suddenly, like a flash of sunlight on a cloudy day, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"The song was really wonderful, by the way," he told her and she found herself blushing.

"Thank you." She had no other words in her just then, suddenly feeling shy and ill at ease. What was wrong with her suddenly? She had always been the level headed one, keeping people at arm's distance and being smart about men. Ozu Tsubasa seemed to demolish her defenses in an instant and it scared her a little.

"My brother, Makito, will be there too, he can watch over you while I am fighting," he added and she cocked her head in enquiry.

"Watch over me? I thought you were the one doing the dangerous part," she teased and he grinned a little self-consciously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, well, the crowds can be a little rowdy and I want you near Aniki to make sure that you don't get jostled." She was speechless. All she could do was bow her thanks for his consideration. It had been a long time since someone had cared for her welfare in such a way.

Tsubasa was nervous as Makito arrived. What if his elder brother didn't like Yumi-san? What if she found him to be too loud, too emotional, and too much in general? He loved his family, but they could be embarrassing sometimes and he really hoped that this wouldn't be one of those times.

"Tsubasa!" Aniki called out and waved vigorously as he approached. Yumi was watching his tall, brash brother with a touch of trepidation, but Makito seemed not to notice.

As they were introduced, Makito grabbed her hand and pumped it enthusiastically. Rather wide-eyed, Yumi stuttered out her pleasure at meeting him.

"You are Tsubasa-san's brother?" she asked with a touch of incredulity and Makito laughed loudly at her question.

"Tsubasa and Urara are the quiet ones in the family," he informed her in a stage whisper and she gave him a sweet, rather uncertain smile. "I am the loud one, not as quick as my brother, but don't worry, you will be perfectly safe as long as I am here!"

"I can see that courage is a shared trait, though," she answered and flashed Tsubasa a smile. Makito roared with laughter again and patted her on the shoulder. She sagged a little from the impact, but continued to keep smiling. Tsubasa could see that she was determined to be kind to his brother and it made him feel very proud of her.

"Yumi-chan, you are a very nice girl! Tsubasa has good sense!" Aniki approved and Yumi blushed under the praise. "You must come for dinner and meet the family!"

"Not so fast! You will scare her off!" Tsubasa protested as Yumi laughed rather nervously. "Give her time to get used to you first, before I drop the whole family on her!" he added. Yumi gave him a slightly startled look, as though she hadn't expected his words at all.

"I am very hard to scare, Tsubasa-san," she admitted and that set Makito off again.

"Brave girl! You say that now, but you haven't met Houka and Kai, yet!" Makito chuckled. Yumi looked rather nonplussed by his comment, but wisely remained silent. Tsubasa claimed her back from his brother and escorted her into the arena.

Yumi hadn't expected the journalists. Lights were flashing in her eyes and people were yelling questions, but Makito put himself between her and the reporters and the three of them went past without much bother. She hadn't properly appreciated him, she realized. Makito was a big man, heavily built, and he was quite capable of just pushing past anyone blocking his way with ease.

Like a snow plow, he broke a trail for his brother and Yumi just followed in his wake. Tsubasa was frowning and his attention was moving away from her to some inner place. She recognized it from the mirror, for it was the same face she saw as she was getting ready for a concert.

She left him to whatever mental preparations he needed to make and then they parted, as he headed for the locker room, and she continued to follow after his brother towards their seats. His wave and the smile he gave her were somewhat distant, but she didn't mind. She knew that he was probably as deeply into the mental preparations for his fight as she would have been for her playing.

Makito-san led her to their seats, talking loudly as they went about how good his little brother was at boxing, and how proud he was of him. Despite his large size and booming voice, Yumi found herself warming to him. He had a kind smile and was a deeply genuine person. They settled into their chairs and Makito continued to sing his brother's praises and she slowly realized that between sentences he was shooting her some rather anxious looks.

"Makito-san, is something wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"No, no, it's just that Tsubasa has never asked a girl to his fights before and he hardly ever dates at all, so I am a little nervous. I don't want you to think the whole family is strange or anything," he blurted out in a rush and Yumi blinked at him stupidly. Tsubasa hardly ever dated? How can that be? He was handsome, smart and funny; girls should be falling all over themselves to date him. Chi-chan had even gushed about him and she was normally more prone to gush over fashions than men.

"I don't think you are strange at all," she reassured him with a smile and he returned it with far more wattage. He was endearingly sweet and she found herself quickly growing fond of him as they sat and chatted before the bout.

He was a farmer, it turned out, and she knew just enough about plants to get him started and then occasionally make an intelligent comment, though he quickly lost her in a dissertation about fertilizers.

"Sakura-chan thinks that fish meal is the best for certain trees and I have to agree. I could never use something cheap to fertilize with," he concluded and she nodded sagely, trying to look like she had a clue.

"Is Sakura-san you're wife," she guessed and now Makito-san blushed and stammered a bit.

"Very soon, we are getting married next month." He drifted off for a moment, with a dreamy smile on his face before snapping back to the present. "You must come to the wedding!" he informed her with a clap of his hands. "Tsubasa will bring you!" He acted as though it was decided and Yumi gaped at him a bit, unused to such passion and energy. She just bobbed her head in a nod, figuring that Tsubasa would sort it all out later.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" called out the announcer and Makito broke off abruptly. Looking around at the spectators, Yumi thought that the announcer's assessment of the crowd was overly generous. She saw plenty of tattooed men accompanied by girls who popped gum and had too much makeup. There were gamblers, a few rather drunk salary-men, some bored rich kids and lots of working men, all shouting, smoking and exchanging bets.

Yumi very much doubted that her mother would approve. Still, with Makito-san sitting beside her and glaring at everyone who got near to her, she felt quite safe. It was amusing to her how quickly his lowered eyebrows could drive away even the most drunken and belligerent of people.

"The Asian bantamweight champion, Ozu Tsubasa!" she brought her attention back to the ring in time to hear Tsubasa being introduced and blinked again. He stepped into the ring with a cocky grin that seemed unlike him. Of course, she had only known him for two days; she could hardly say that she knew him well. Wait, what had the balding man in the ring said?

"He's the Asian champion, really?" she asked Makito in surprise.

"You didn't know?" For some reason her total ignorance seemed to please the exuberant farmer and he launched into a recitation of Tsubasa-san's past glories. Yumi only listened with half her attention, because the other man entered the ring and he looked mean and dangerous. That was who Tsubasa was fighting?

"Japanese all around champion and Olympic silver medalist, Arakaki Shojo!" Now Yumi was feeling a little nervous. Arakaki Shojo looked like her idea of a boxer, large, scary, with a broken nose and a glower. Next to him, Tsubasa looked light and delicate.

They stepped into the center, bowed and then the bout began. After the initial flurry of blows, Yumi took to watching the fight from behind her fingers, wincing and closing her eyes every time that Tsubasa was hit.

That he was hitting the other guy more often and much harder didn't make up for the fact that he was taking some damage. She could hardly bear to watch the fight, since each blow he received made her flinch in sympathy.

Makito patted her shoulder with a sympathetic smile.

"I felt the same way when I first started watching him and our o-kaa-san can't watch at all really." His understanding made her feel a little better, but when Arakaki landed a punch to Tsubasa's face she couldn't help feeling a little queasy. She shut her eyes, but listening without seeing was actually a little worse, since she couldn't tell who was being hit.

"Oh!" she cried as Tsubasa took a blow to the shoulder that nearly spun him around, but he ducked under the other man's arm and jabbed him hard in the chin. Almost lifted off of his feet by the blow, Arakaki fell backwards and hit the mat. She could hardly breathe as the official counted to ten, but Arakaki stayed down and she sighed deeply in relief as Tsubasa was announced as the winner.

"Ha! I knew he would have no problem with that slow lump!" Makito cheered, but Yumi just wilted in her chair, relieved beyond measure that it was over and no serious injury had been done to Tsubasa.

"I don't know if I could have survived another round," she murmured and Makito laughed at her and pounded her on the back. She knew that he was trying to be gentle, but she felt like his affection could be a deadly thing if he wasn't careful.

"It's all right; he's made of tough stuff!" Long hair bouncing as he nodded vigorously, he waved off her concerns with a grin.

It was true that she had watched him defeat a kappa only that afternoon, but this was different somehow. Then she had been afraid for both of their lives and also concerned for anyone that might get hurt by the creature. That was totally different than walking into a ring and deliberately setting about to beat someone else up.

Arakaki was groggily being led off and Tsubasa had already gone out of the ring, but Makito stayed put, describing the cleverness of Tsubasa's strategy to her. Again she only listened with half an ear, more concerned for his injuries than interested in the sport.

The seats began to slowly empty and Makito finally got up.

"Come on; let's go see how he is, the doctor and his manager must be done fussing over him by now." Yumi followed obediently behind him, watching as he flashed passes to the security guard. Their passage through was watched enviously by some of the other spectators, but Yumi felt small and a little scared. The hallways and corridors were brightly lit and somewhat crowded. People rushed from place to place, talking loudly and pushed past her without any politeness, Makito took the lead again, breaking a path for her and she was once again grateful to Tsubasa's Onii-chan.

Tsubasa winced as the doctor daubed at the cut on his forehead, but the euphoria of his victory had yet to wear off and the pain was minimal. He heard Makito's voice long before he saw him and smiled at the enthusiastic ramblings. Obviously his brother liked Yumi-san, because he was still happy and cheerful after a long period in her company. Makito was completely unable to hide his emotions, so if he sounded happy, then he was pleased with her company.

They came in, Makito first, gesticulating along with his commentary, and Yumi-chan on his heels, looking rather small behind him. She was wide-eyed and appeared a little daunted by hordes of people swarming through the room. Reporters, doctors, his manger and trainer, various support staff, they all bustled about, talking in loud voices and getting into each other's way.

"Tsubasa!" His brother's hearty roar caused a general smile amongst the gathered people. Makito was well known by everyone present and quite well liked. He herded Yumi-san towards where the doctor was applying the butterfly tape to his cut and she winced when she saw that. He grinned at her reaction and she returned the smile with a rather rueful one of her own.

"Hey! Who's the girl?" one of the reporters asked him with a knowing grin.

"Kimura Yumi," he answered and to his surprise the man lit up like a Christmas display.

"The pianist and song writer?" he asked with great enthusiasm. Tsubasa nodded, wondering just how famous Yumi-san actually was.

"You've heard of her?"

"Sure, before they put me on sports, I used to cover the music scene. Kimura-san isn't an idol or anything, but she has written a lot of really popular songs. Among musicians she is very much respected." Tsubasa nodded and glanced over at the slender girl who was presently hiding behind his brother. "She's supposed to be really shy, though, doesn't go out much, how'd you get her to come here tonight?"

"I asked her to," he answered and then left the man there to think whatever he wanted to about it. He wasn't sure if after two day's acquaintance she was ready to be put through the ordeal of reporters. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four – Breathing Exercises

Yumi sipped her tea and listened to the two brothers arguing. There was no real animosity in their wrangling, just an old dance between them, each one knowing their part so well that it soothed them.

"You were playing with him, letting him get in more blows," Makito was chiding.

"I wish!" Tsubasa retorted and rubbed his shoulder, wincing at the soreness. "Arakaki was tough! I beat him only because I was faster than him," he admitted, somewhat chagrined.

"Oh no, look at the time! I have to get home, Sakura-chan will be waiting for me." Makito jumped up and charged out of the coffee shop, bowing and excusing himself with great haste. Left alone with Tsubasa, Yumi felt it was finally all right to relax a little. She sank back in her chair with a huge sigh of relief.

"Are you all right?" he asked her, with a concerned look on his face.

"I'm fine; Makito-san took excellent care of me. Your brother is nice and very sweet, but I was hard-pressed to keep up with his conversation," she admitted. "I don't know much about fertilizer."

Tsubasa burst out laughing.

"I'm so sorry! Makito has never understood that not everybody loves gardening the way he does." She could see that he was a little embarrassed and shook her head.

"No, he's wonderful! So nice and kind, really!" she assured him with a smile. "I just didn't know how to answer him, sometimes."

"He will take an "I don't know" for an answer." Tsubasa retorted with a roll of his eyes.

"My mother made certain that I was very polite, but she didn't teach me the etiquette of fertilizer," Yumi admitted, still smiling.

"Your mother sounds very respectable," he answered and she could hear the question in his voice.

"She comes from a very old Samurai family, she is very proud." Yumi couldn't keep all of the sourness out of her voice, but Tsubasa merely nodded. "When she married my father, her family was rather disapproving, so she made sure that my siblings and I were raised to be extremely polite to make up for our father's low birth." She kept her tone carefully neutral, but some of her anger leaked out anyway, because he winced at her words.

"Sounds awful." He shook his head and she flashed a smile.

"My father is wonderful, but besides him I think that I will like your family much better than my own," she told him with a conspiratorial air and he chuckled.

"Like Aniki said, wait till you meet the rest of them, then decide." It was a rueful comment, but she closed her eyes and tried to remember the dream.

"I recall the tall fellow, the one who told you that it was hopeless to try and save me, but the others didn't say much, so I don't know much about them," she murmured, trying to recall the details. It took her a moment to realize that he had said nothing in response and she opened her eyes to see him staring at her.

"How much _do_ you remember?" he choked out and she blinked at him in surprise.

"I thought I told you, I remember all of it, though I thought it was just a weird dream I kept having." She shrugged while he looked a little uncomfortable. "Why?"

"Well, I…um…was upset at points," he stammered, looking away, and she found herself blushing a little. They had held hands, she had rested her head on his shoulder, he had held her in his arms as she faded away to the next world, so she could understand why he seemed a little shy suddenly.

"So was I," she answered, her voice soft and her eyes on her teacup. He reached over and placed his hand lightly on hers, where it rested on the table. He left it there for a moment and then pulled it back. She felt the loss of his touch acutely and yet was also quite flustered by his gesture.

"Your hands are much warmer now," he commented and she looked up at him in surprise. There was a long moment when they just looked at each other and then they both found words to fill up the silence, though the most important ones remained unsaid.

Tsubasa sat and listened to Jun-sensei as he ran the tape back again, but his full attention wasn't on the analysis of the fight.

"Arakaki nearly had you here, next time you have to be more careful," Jun complained and Tsubasa frowned and agreed. It had been a moment's inattention, but it had nearly cost him.

"You're right, I got cocky." Jun-sensei paused the tape and peered into his face.

"Are you feeling well?" he asked with an air of perplexity.

"Fine, why?"

"Because normally you argue with me about my calls and today you have been surprisingly agreeable." Tsubasa shrugged and Jun-sensei raised an eyebrow and stepped back. "This whole last week you have been cheerful, friendly and pleasant. Either you are sick, or you are in love." Tsubasa nearly choked on his water and set the bottle down hastily as he coughed.

"Jun-sensei!" he protested, but the older man merely nodded sagely.

"You're in love," he concluded and shook his head with a doleful air. "It's been the ruin of many a good boxer. No doubt she will ask you to stop fighting and you will tamely agree. What a waste!"

"She wouldn't ask such a thing of me!" Tsubasa protested, but her face when she had seen him fight, the way she had winced at his injuries, it gave him doubts. What if she did, could he give up his second chance with her? Would he give up boxing?

"Women come in two types, Tsubasa-kun, they either want to change everything about you, or they want you to pay for everything." Higa-san interjected, his face pulled into a grimace of distaste.

"Yumi-san isn't like that," he insisted, but the seed of doubt was placed.

Yumi sighed and ran her fingers over the keyboard. She cared for Tsubasa, but she also loved to play. What if he wanted to get married? Would he expect her to give up her career? Most men just assumed that if she married them, she would stop playing and stay home to raise the children. She picked out a few notes at random, her thoughts running in circles.

She had determined never to marry if she couldn't still play, but Tsubasa was already so important to her. She just wasn't certain that she could give him up, either. There was a history there, a deep connection that ran over all of her logical arguments.

There was a knock on the door and she got up from the piano bench with a sigh. It was probably her neighbor, Himaki-san, wanting to gossip about the other tenants in the apartment building. The old woman was a terrible gossip and would always stay too long, but Yumi was too kind to turn her away when she was obviously so lonely.

Opening the door, however, she was pleasantly surprised.

"Papa!" she cried in delight and threw her arms around him.

"Yu-chan!" he answered fondly and she ushered him inside. Her father, who was as untidy as always, had an oversized sweater hanging off his lanky frame. His hair was tousled, and his glasses were askew, but he had a happy smile on his face and his black eyes sparkled with merriment. To Yumi he was a handsome man, but to most he was the epitome of the absent-minded professor.

"Papa, what brings you to Tokyo! I am so happy to see you!" She hustled him into her little kitchen and began pulling out a teapot and some cinnamon rolls she had baked the day before.

"I am giving a lecture on quantum tunneling at the university. I took an earlier train in so I could spend some time with you," he told her, as she put the kettle on to boil. "How are things with you?"

"Good, very good," she answered, her earlier concerns drifting away as she remembered the lopsided smile Tsubasa had given her as he had parted the other evening.

"Ah! A boy?" the eager look on her father's face was not lost on Yumi and she had to laugh.

"Yes, actually," she murmured, feeling suddenly a trifle shy.

"Name? job? How serious?" he rattled off and she laughed.

"You are worse than an old auntie. Papa!" She shook her head and poured the hot water over the leaves with a mock sigh. "Ozu Tsubasa is his name and I think it might be serious." She bit her lip, hoping he wouldn't point out her omission, but it was in vain. He might forget his glasses, but Kimura Toshio was sharp as a laser when he thought it was important.

"You didn't say what he does," he prompted her and Yumi hid her confusion in the ritual of preparing the tea and pouring it out. "Is it something shameful? He's not Yakuza, or anything, is he?" That question made Yumi laugh and shake her head.

"No, no, I don't think it's shameful at all, but I also don't think O-kaa-san will approve." She took a breath. "He's a boxer, actually he's the Asian bantamweight champion," she informed him with a certain degree of pride.

"So, yes, I can see why you think Yukio-chan will not approve." Her father's nod of understanding was gentle, but it didn't ease the knots in her stomach. "A boxer? He doesn't sound like someone for you, Yumi. They are a rough lot." He was frowning now and his expression was dubious.

"He's not like that! Tsubasa-san is very sweet and gentle. He's smart, and funny and wonderful." She was nearly pleading with her father and she could see that he was listening. If she could get him on her side in this, then he could work on mother, but if they were both opposed it would be an uphill battle.

"What about his family?" Yumi winced, remembering Makito-san's boisterous laugh. If the rest of the family was like him, then there was no way her mother would be able to hide her disdain and pride. She was capable of offending people instantly with her icy dignity and the last thing Yumi wanted was for Makito-san to be on the receiving end of one of her mother's pointed comments. She was quiet too long. "That bad, eh?"

"They are really good, kind people." Her father nodded his understanding. They both knew what her mother was like and there was nothing to say that hadn't been said before.

"Maybe I better meet them first, so I can figure out what to say to Yukio-chan," he chuckled and Yumi smiled at him with a radiant happiness.

"You are the best father in the world, Papa," she told him and his smile faltered a bit.

"You _are_ serious about this boy, aren't you," he asked with a slightly wistful tone.

"I've waited all my life just to meet Tsubasa-san," she answered and knew that it was the literal truth. She had died and been reborn just so she could return to him.

"So I have the lecture today, but I can come down again next week to meet this young man, if that would be okay?" Yumi hugged her father hard, almost causing him to spill his tea. His laughter and the hug he gave her in return made her heart feel light and full of joy.

Tsubasa sat down at the table and glanced around at his family. The Ozu's dining room was simply decorated, but it had the warmth of all his childhood memories in it. His father sat, coffee cup in hand, while his mother was bringing out the eggs and toast for them.

Makito was expounding on the new apartment that he was painting for Sakura-san and himself. Sakura, so shy and quiet, was listening to him and also watching them all with a sweet, if somewhat bewildered smile. She still had trouble adapting to human ways, apparently tree kami did not all eat breakfast together and while she found the custom confusing, she was slowly adapting to the early morning chaos.

She also hadn't understood why unmarried people couldn't live together and the family had been unable to explain it to her. They had finally just given up and pretended that the room she had been given was the one she was actually sleeping in.

Houka was reciting lines for an audition she had that afternoon over and over again in different tones.

"It will make your kitchen sparkle like a diamond!" she chanted and Kai snorted.

"When did you last clean a kitchen, Houka-nee-chan?" he mocked with a grin and Houka frowned fiercely at him.

"That is why it's called "acting"!" she threw back at him, with a toss of her head. Tsubasa wisely stayed out of the argument. Looking around the table he sighed a little. His father had hardly been back before Urara had gotten married and moved to Magitopia with Hikaru-sensei. Soon, Makito and his bride would be moving out, as well. That would leave only three Ozu children still living at home.

He wasn't sure why that thought was so depressing to him. It was only natural, after all, children grew up and got married, they moved away. It was just that he had hoped that after father returned they would have some time to be a whole family again. All the years that had been lost where they could have sat around this table laughing and talking and they would never get those years back again.

"Everything all right, Tsubasa?" his mother asked as she set his plate down in front of him. He shook his head in negation.

"Just thinking," he told her, waving of her concern.

"About that girl of yours?" Makito asked with a knowing smile. The table erupted as both Houka and Kai began pelting him with questions, His father looked at him in surprise and his mother smiled somewhat uncertainly.

"What is this about?" his father asked and Tsubasa shrugged, trying to underplay the whole thing.

"He invited her to his fight, she was very kind and pretty," Makito answered with an approving tone and Tsubasa ducked his head down over his food. Sakura-san smiled at him over her eggs and he grinned back at his elder brother's fiancée. She was the quietest member of the family, but he was quite fond of the sweet cherry tree spirit.

"Who is she? Why haven't you told us about her?" Houka protested with a pout.

"Because I didn't want you to try to "help" me the way you did Kai," Tsubasa muttered, grim-faced.

"Oh!" Houka cried with indignation.

"Smart, Chii-ni, her helping me was a disaster," Kai whispered, but from the furious look on Houka's face, she heard him.

"What is her name?" his mother asked her voice quiet in sharp contrast to Houka's loud complaints.

"Kimura Yumi," Tsubasa answered. He wanted to add more, but a sudden shyness overtook him.

"She plays piano for an idol singer and writes songs," Makito put in. His brother quite obviously liked Yumi-san, which made Tsubasa smile at him, but he still felt reluctant to talk about this fragile, new feeling. His mother seemed to understand because she simply smiled.

"You should have her over for dinner, some evening," she told him.

"Only if Houka and Kai promise to behave! Yumi-san has nice manners and she is shy," he answered with a sharp look at his two siblings. They both began to protest volubly and with great energy.

Tsubasa exchanged looks with his mother, who was smothering her laughter behind her hand.

"It's no good, Tsubasa," his father interjected with a grave expression. "Even if they behave perfectly for one night, she will have to know the truth eventually." This parental betrayal led to a storm of angry words from the injured parties. Their mother lost her battle and was giggling aloud now.

Tsubasa slipped out while they were still arguing, still wondering what Yumi-san would make of them all.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five – Moving Closer

They met for lunch that afternoon, and she noticed the constraint in him, but said nothing. He followed her to a donburi place near her work and they sat talking about work and politics and other topics that didn't touch them personally. Yumi could see from the line between his brows that there was something wrong.

"Is everything okay?" she asked diffidently, despite all that they had gone through in her last life, she still wasn't entirely sure of where they stood in this one.

"My family is very loud," he burst out and then fell silent again.

"My mother is a horrible snob who thinks that if you buy off the rack, you are low class," she answered and his head popped up in surprise. "I would like to think that doesn't matter." He was eyeing her with concern now.

"You think she won't like me?" he asked, his voice uncertain.

"I think that unless you were the CEO of Honda, or a member of the Imperial Family, my mother wouldn't like you," she grumbled and rolled her eyes. He laughed a little nervously at that.

"Do you think that she would like my family?" This was obviously an important question and Yumi knew that only the truth would do here.

"My father will love you and your family, but my mother will be chilly and distantly polite." His face froze over a little while she spoke and she sighed.

"I like your family, what I have seen of them, anyway. I haven't cared what my mother thought of other people since I was a child." She leaned forward, trying to catch his eye and he looked up at her with no humor in his expression. "Tsubasa-san, please don't think that her opinion matters to me."

"Would she like me better if I weren't a boxer?" he asked and she blinked in surprise.

"Probably, but then_ I_ wouldn't like you as much," she answered and now it was his turn to be surprised.

"What? Why not?"

"Because if you gave up something that important to you, just to be with me, you would be miserable and I would be miserable for having caused that. It would be like me having to give up music for you, something that would cause us both pain." She insisted. "You just be who you are and don't pay attention to anyone who thinks that it isn't good enough." She was feeling rather vehement by the end of the speech and found herself ducking her head in confusion over the very intensity of her reaction.

"Huh, Kai said something like that to me once, you are both right," he murmured and she looked up at him, relieved that she hadn't embarrassed him. He smiled at her and shrugged. "I would hate to give up boxing, but I would do it for you." It was nearly a declaration of love and it made her beam at him with happiness.

"Don't give up boxing for me, Tsubasa-san. Follow your dream, I will even try to watch your bouts, without cringing so much," she teased and he laughed.

"Well, I don't want you to give up music either, let's just be who we are, okay?" She was so happy in that moment that she thought she must be glowing with it. "So, if a reporter asks me if we are seeing each other, can I tell him that we are?" He asked the question while looking out the window and his fingers were clenched tightly around his chopsticks.

"That would be fine," she answered and saw him relax and turn back to smile. She hadn't realized that he was as unsure of her as she was of him. It was actually reassuring to know how nervous he was.

"So, my parents would like to meet you." He blurted out with that slightly panicked look back in his eyes. She paused with her chopsticks halfway to her mouth and blinked.

"I would like that, Tsubasa-san," she answered and swallowed nervously. She had a sudden fear that they wouldn't approve of her, that they would think her too shy or too formal.

"Ah, you know, you could call me Tsubasa-chan, if you wanted to." He was rubbing the back of his head again and she could see how awkward the whole conversation was. It made her want to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Why was she feeling so constrained around him? After all, didn't he pull her soul back from oblivion, just because he cared about her?

"Tsubasa-chan, please forgive my formality before. I was very badly raised," she joked and he laughed in response.

"Its okay, Yumi-chan," he answered and she found herself grinning rather foolishly at the way his voice caressed her name. They finished the meal with far more ease than they had begun it. Yumi wasn't sure why just admitting that they were dating made such a big difference, but it did.

Jun-sensei was frowning at him as he worked out. Tsubasa could see his expression in the mirrors that lined the wall as he did his push ups. Even though he had assured his trainer that Yumi wasn't going to make him stop boxing, still the man was irritated with the very fact that Tsubasa was seeing her. He glowered and fretted and there was nothing that Tsubasa could say to change his attitude. It was hard to keep training like nothing was going on.

The real problem though was that he liked Jun-sensei, he respected his opinion and truly wanted the trainer's approval. The tension between them was hard to take. Higa-san had come to watch him train today and he knew that part of it was to see if Jun-sensei's upset was going to affect Tsubasa's training.

Not wanting to cause friction between the two old friends, Tsubasa was earnestly pretending to be fine with everything and working hard. Still, the atmosphere in the gym was strained.

"Oy! Tsubasa!" Makito-nee-san's voice boomed through the room and he came bounding in, dragging a rather wide-eyed Yumi behind him. He had a firm grip on her elbow and she was hanging back, but unable to escape. Tsubasa knew that Makito at his most insistent was an unstoppable force.

"Oy!" Tsubasa called back, somewhat confused by what the two of them were doing here. Yumi looked very uncomfortable and he got up and grabbed a towel, moving quickly to her side, wanting to rescue her from his brother's puppy-like energy.

"Yumi-chan didn't want to come in and bother you while you were training, but I told her not to be silly!" Makito laughed, completely oblivious to Jun-sensei's frozen expression or the painfully neutral look on Higa-san's face. He released Yumi at last and Tsubasa introduced her to his manager and trainer.

"Please forgive the intrusion," she murmured, bowing very deeply to both of the older men. She was wearing a simple white top and pale yellow skirt, her hair back in a knot at the back of her head. She looked nervous, but quite lovely, he thought. Still, the moment was decidedly awkward, though the only person who seemed unaware of that, was Makito-san.

"Its fine, Kimura-san," Higa-san replied with a wave of his hand, though Jun-sensei still looked miffed.

"Tsubasa! You won't guess! Yumi-chan is getting an award for her song-writing! Isn't that great?" Tsubasa grinned and grabbed her hand.

"That is great!" he congratulated her.

"There is an awards dinner on the fifth, if you would like to come?" her voice was hesitant and his heart sank.

"I have a fight that night," he sighed, letting go of his grip on her. He felt horrible; he didn't like to disappoint her.

"Can't you re-schedule?" Makito asked.

"No!" Yumi answered quickly. "Tsubasa-chan had his fight planned before this came up." She smiled at him. "It's fine. I will ask Genji-sensei to escort me."

"Genji-sensei?" Makito asked in confusion and with a touch of suspicion in his eyes. Tsubasa could see that Makito had appointed himself protector of his little brother's relationship, and he hoped that any man speaking to Yumi wouldn't get Makito's fist in his face.

"He's the studio's best engineer and he has been my mentor for many years," she answered. "He deserves some recognition for all that he does." Tsubasa snapped his fingers in understanding.

"The old man from the booth," he answered and she nodded. His description of the man wiped the suspicious expression from Makito's face. Tsubasa smiled down at her, lost for a moment in her loveliness. "That is a great idea; he will be a very good escort. He was quite… protective of you." She laughed as he paused to search for a neutral word.

"Gave you a lecture, did he?" Yumi asked him with eyes sparkling. Once engaged in the conversation, her shyness had evaporated, or maybe it was just the fact that he was there beside her, he wasn't certain. The girl she became when she laughed was one that he couldn't imagine being without.

"A bit of one, yes," he replied with a lopsided smile. She turned her smile on his trainer and manager and bowed deeply to both of them

"Please take care of Tsubasa for me," she asked, with her voice full of respect, and they both bowed in response, though Jun-sensei still looked a little dubious. "I am sorry that I will miss your fight, Tsubasa-chan, do your best!" she gave him a thumbs up and he grinned at her.

"Congratulations," he repeated and she bowed to the room again before slipping away. His mood was considerably better just for having seen her.

"Beautiful," Higa-san murmured with a strange look in his eyes. There was something almost wistful in the way he stood there watching the doorway that she had passed through.

"Humph," Jun-sensei grumbled, but the rest of the training went far more smoothly from that moment on, with both men somewhat reconciled to Yumi-chan's existence. It probably helped that Makito was so enthusiastic about her. His happiness for his little brother was quite infectious.

Tsubasa hoped that the rest of his family would be charmed as well.

Urara got the call from her mother and smiled as she listened.

"For dinner, really?" she asked with a bubble of laughter in her heart. "This sounds serious!" Hikaru came in as she was speaking and his eyebrow arched in interest. "Of course we will be there, kaa-chan, we wouldn't miss meeting Tsubasa's new girlfriend!" His handsome face comical in its surprise, Hikaru slipped up beside her and pressed his ear close to the phone. "Yes, yes, we will make sure to dress normally," she laughed and Hikaru smiled as well.

She hung up and gave her husband a small kiss.

"Tsubasa has a girlfriend, eh?" he queried and at her nod, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I am glad that he is finally over Rei. I was starting to get genuinely worried about him."

Urara merely nodded, happy that so far he had no suspicions about her involvement.

Yumi stood in front of the mirror trying not to hyperventilate. Her father was coming in a few days to meet Tsubasa's family and tonight she was going over to the Ozu house to meet the rest of his. Every moment of social embarrassment that she had ever suffered was being replayed through her mind just then. Having been a pre-schooler with all the reserve and formality of an old woman, she had been horribly teased by the other children. Then, when they found out that she could play the piano, write and read music, they had simply moved away from her, deciding that she was some sort of freak.

Most of her life she had spent alone, her father was usually at work at the lab, her mother was always attending some social function or charity event, and the servants were too well trained to play with the lonely little girl.

Then the concerts began. She remembered being a very young girl and sitting there in front of people, playing Chopin, or Beethoven and feeling like a she was some side-show attraction. She recalled all the times that her mother trotted her out to perform for her guests and then sent her away again when she was done.

None of these things had taught her to be easy and comfortable in large groups. Tsubasa had four siblings, plus there would be Urara's husband, Makito's fiancée, and Kai's girlfriend, as well as his parents. That was ten people. She already knew and liked Makito, but she was petrified to meet their parents. Every time that Tsubasa spoke of them, his voice was filled with such affection, his love for them quite obvious. What if they hated her?

"I don't think I should go," she sighed and heard an exasperated noise behind her.

"Don't be an idiot, it'll be fine!" Chi-chan insisted and went back to arranging Yumi's hair. It was up in a knot, but Chi-chan had managed to soften it with delicate curls wisping around her face.

"What if they hate me?" she asked, twisting her hands together nervously.

"They will adore you, you are sweet, pretty, talented, kind, and totally gone on their son, what parent wouldn't love you?" she chuckled, her voice filled with patient amusement. Yumi blushed at the idol's assessment of her feelings for Tsubasa, but didn't deny it either.

"I am so formal and stiff," she complained, wishing she could be more easy-going, like Chi-chan.

"Not around, Tsubasa-san, you're not," the younger girl responded absently, her hands still busy.

That comment made Yumi pause and think. It was true that she never felt as comfortable and happy with anyone, except perhaps her father, as she did with Tsubasa.

"Tsubasa-chan is different," she murmured, not able to explain.

"You know you could try "Tsu-kun", or "Tsu-chan" if the first one is too hard for you," laughed the pretty idol, with her black eyes sparkling merrily. Yumi found herself blushing again.

"I've only just managed to stop using "san", give me a little time, please," Yumi chuckled, finding the humor in the whole situation at last. Chi-chan rolled her eyes at her and Yumi laughed aloud.

Maybe this would all be okay after all.

She stepped out of the cab and all her fears were back again. The Ozu house was pretty, all stone with two stories and a gabled roof. It was western in style and had a very lovely garden all around it. Makito's handiwork, no doubt.

Laughter and voices were coming through the open door and the warm light that spilled out was welcoming, but still she hung back, nervous and with a wave of apprehension rolling over her.

"Are you lost?" a voice asked her and she spun around in surprise. A rather tiny, slender woman with long dark hair was standing beside her and Yumi had no idea where she had come from. She was very pretty, but she looked like she had stepped out of a history book, dressed in kimonos, tabi, and geta, with her hair done up on her head in a rather formal, ancient style. She actually looked like she ought to be in a glass case somewhere, rather than walking around the street.

"No, I'm just a little nervous to go in," she admitted and the woman smiled. It was a kind smile and it made Yumi feel a little silly for standing here in the gathering dark.

"You must be Kimura Yumi; Tsubasa-kun said you were shy. We are all supposed to be very nice to you and not scare you," she informed her with a placid tone and Yumi tried not to laugh. "I am Ki Sakura, Makito's fiancée," she frowned. "Did I say that correctly? Miyuki-san gets a funny look when I get it wrong."

"You said it quite well," Yumi assured her. The delicate woman, with her perplexed expression and quiet voice, while a trifle odd, seemed somehow quite fragile. Yumi felt a trifle protective of her and didn't want to hurt her feelings. Sakura-san beamed up at her, obviously pleased by the praise.

"Oh good, there are so many things that I get wrong," she explained and then took Yumi's hand and started leading her towards the house. Yumi was startled by the gesture, but it was obvious that Sakura had no idea that she was behaving at all strangely, so Yumi just gave in and let herself be dragged along. First Makito, then Sakura, she thought to herself with a laugh, this family seems determined to drag me into it.

It wasn't a thought that bothered her overmuch, though it was rather overwhelming at times.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six – Magical Family

Tsubasa looked up in startlement as Sakura entered, dragging a rather bewildered looking Yumi in behind her. He grinned weakly and went to rescue her from yet another member of his family.

She caught his eye and her smile set him at ease. She wasn't appalled at Sakura's strangeness, thank heavens.

"Hi," he murmured and took in the sight of her. She was wearing a simple lavender dress, with a white sweater draped over her shoulders and white shoes. He reached up and tugged gently on one of the wispy ringlets that fell around her face and she grinned at him.

"Chi-chan did my hair," she told him with a flush on her cheeks.

"It looks good." They were just standing there, grinning at each other, he realized and Sakura was watching them with a sort of detached amusement.

"Um, I see you have already met Sakura-san." He gestured to his future sister-in-law and they bowed to each other, Yumi's bow very flowing and Sakura's bow more perfunctory, but extremely graceful.

"Yes, she kindly escorted me in," Yumi answered and Tsubasa tried not to laugh, remembering the way Sakura had literally dragged the younger woman through the front door.

"The rest of the family is in the living room," he warned her and she tensed up again. Very gently he took her hand in his and smiled at her reassuringly. "It will be fine, trust me," he assured her and she gave him a look that nearly stopped his heart.

"I do trust you," she answered, with a grave seriousness to her voice, and together they stepped through to the living room, Sakura-san drifting along behind them.

It was going well, he thought. Hikaru and Urara had been gracious and polite, Makito already liked her, Houka and Kai had been a little dubious at first, but seemed to be warming to her, and his parents had been quite wonderful.

It occurred to him that his mother, at least, was deeply relieved that he had finally brought home any girl at all. In the two years since he had lost Rei, there had been no one that he had really been interested in. The gracious way his mother was treating Yumi was a part of her nature, of course, but there was additional warmth there as well. He wondered if his mother had been worried for him.

Yumi's quiet demeanor and politeness was a plus to his father, who was rather old-fashioned in his way. Any potential conversation was being drowned out by Houka and Kai at the moment, though, who were wrangling over who got the last piece of tonkatsu, but she seemed to be ease beside him.

He was acutely conscious of her sitting so near to him. The table was crowded with family at the moment and they were all shoved up together. Her elbow bumped his occasionally and it sent little jolts of electricity through him.

Kai made a joke, Yumi giggled, and Tsubasa found himself enchanted with her laugh. It was very hard to keep up the conversation when he was constantly being distracted.

Urara was leaning back a little, rubbing her belly and wincing.

"Are you all right?" Yumi asked and his sister groaned and made an irritated gesture with her hands.

"One more month to go and I already feel ready to be done with this," she admitted and their mother nodded with sympathy.

"I recall that feeling quite well," she told her with a rueful smile.

"How did you do this five times?" Urara asked with another wince.

"I just remembered how much I loved each one of you once you were born," she told them and they all smiled at her.

"Your mother is so nice," Yumi whispered to him and there was a yearning in her voice that made him wonder once more about her mother. It didn't sound as though she was a very warm or caring person. He smiled at her and she returned it, though her shyness was back, being around so many people.

"It's easier with trees," Sakura commented. "You just drop a few seeds or acorns and are done with it." Her tone was only mildly interested, as she was concentrating on her salad. Tsubasa wasn't yet ready to explain her to Yumi-chan just yet so he held his breath waiting for the next oddity that she might spout.

"Maybe we should switch to something like that," Kai teased and everyone laughed. Tsubasa let out his breath, relieved that nothing too weird had happened.

"Everyone-sama!" a shrieking voice called out and Tsubasa froze inside. Mandora boy, his green leaves waving frantically, came flying into the room. Beside him, Yumi's head snapped around to watch the potted plant zoom towards them all and then hover over the table. "There is an emergency – gozarimaste!"

Everyone jumped up and headed off to the Magic room. Tsubasa grabbed Yumi by the hand and she allowed herself to be towed along after the others. She didn't even pause as he ran with her through what seemed to be a solid wall on their staircase, though she did look rather pale once they were through to the other side.

"I'm so sorry! I forget that not everyone is used to this stuff," he apologized, but she just smiled weakly at him and shook her head.

"I told you that I trust you, Tsubasa-chan, it's okay. I was just a little startled." Her breathless reply reassured him, but he was immediately caught up in the newest emergency.

Yumi looked around her in bemusement. It was one thing to know that your boyfriend was a wizard, it was something else entirely to be dragged through a wall into an obviously magical room. The potted plant was still whizzing about and was speaking to them as though it were addressing the highest ranking of families and it were a mere retainer.

The Ozu family was clustered around a mirror talking loudly and on top of each other. Yet, strangely they managed to reach some sort of consensus and were suddenly jumping on broomsticks and a magic carpet and zipping out of the room.

Yumi was left standing staring at Yamazaki Yuka, Kai's girlfriend and Ki Sakura.

"Does this happen often?" Yumi asked, trying to pretend that she wasn't feeling utterly lost at the moment.

"More often than I like," Yamazaki-chan admitted. "The mirror informs them when there is a magical emergency," she explained and Yumi nodded, trying to look like she understood. Sakura-san was watching the mirror intently, her focus on the images that were being displayed there and seemingly oblivious to the other two women.

"Everyone-sama will be back soon, don't worry!" the potted plant informed her. "I am Mandora-boy," he added and Yumi bowed to him politely, his own rather formal language made her revert to her childhood and she found herself being somewhat more formal than she thought was probably warranted.

"I am pleased to meet you," she replied, feeling a little silly. The plant zipped closer and hovered in front of her. She noted that it had a face and what seemed to be arm-like fronds, it was planted in a white pot with delicate gold curlicues embossed on it and it had a sweet looking expression. She was trying hard not to stare at it, or grab it and examine it more closely.

"I am extremely pleased to meet you as well, Kimura-sama." The little plant managed a creditable bow, pot and all.

"Oh! They are there!" Yamazaki-chan waved at her and Yumi darted over to look into the mirror. The whole family had dismounted from the brooms and were now waving their hands around and shouting. There was a flash of light and then they were dressed in fighting gear.

The concrete industrial area where they had landed was filled with machinery and people running. She could see a flash of blue in the corner of the mirror and she guessed they were by the docks somewhere. The creature looked up from where it was chewing on some electrical cables and made a weird groaning noise, It looked to be made from seaweed and robes and had a tattered, rather pathetic appearance.

"Kai-kun, be careful!" Yamazaki-chan whispered and Yumi noted that Sakura-san had her hands carefully folded before her, but that her fingers were twisting a bit in anxiety.

To Yumi's eyes though, it looked a little one-sided, all those Ozu magicians against one poor, rather draggled-looking monster. She didn't understand their concern until about a minute later, when the creature started lobbing energy blasts at her boyfriend. The way that her stomach dropped into her shoes and her heart started to pound, along with her sudden feeling of terror, made the others' concern seem positively mild in comparison.

Yamazaki-chan took her hand and she found herself gripping back hard and trying not to scream out her concern. Was this what he did on his off hours? Between watching him fight in the ring and watching him fight on the mirror, she was going to lose years of off her life.

Tsubasa had a twinge of concern at abandoning Yumi and just charging off to fight, but there were innocent people in danger. Once they were in the thick of the fight though, he had no attention to spare for her. Dodging blasts of energy and thick ropey tentacles with spiked barbs on them was focusing his attention rather nicely.

Kai, as usual, was charging in head first, with little concern for his own hide. Tsubasa divided his attention between keeping his baby brother in one piece and staying out of reach of the tentacles. Chucking lightning bolts seemed to have an effect and he kept at it, watching as wisps of smoke rose from where he struck the creature.

The rest of his family fought beside him and there was nothing that made him happier than having them all around him like this. Together they could defeat any foe.

His father and Kai attacked with fire together and the creature screamed. The sound grated along Tsubasa's nerves making him twitch. There was a sudden conflagration and then the fire seemed to suck back in on itself and vanish. There was nothing left of the creature except a scorch mark on the concrete.

With a feeling of relief he watched Kai cast a repairing spell to fix most of the damage in the area and then they zipped away home. Tsubasa had a feeling that he was going to be having a long talk with Yumi-chan that evening.

Yuki-chan had jumped on Kai first thing and even Sakura-san had run to greet Makito, but Yumi had merely smiled and welcomed them all back. She looked a trifle pale, but otherwise quite composed. Knowing her shyness, he wondered if she was hiding her concern, but it was hard to tell.

"I am so sorry about dinner," his mother apologized, bowing to their guests. The murmured polite noises in response were obligatory, but He noted Yumi's eyes on him in particular.

"I suppose that I have a lot to explain to you," he began, but she shook her head in negation.

"You only need to explain what you want to," she answered, her voice pitched as low as his. He wasn't certain if she was letting him off the hook or if she simply didn't want to know. However, he caught her eyeing Smoky with great interest, so it couldn't be a lack of curiosity.

"Tsubasa, why don't we talk about all of this after we finish eating," his mother interrupted and with general approval for the idea, they trooped back into the dining room and sat to down.

His mother cast a quick spell and the food was hot and fresh once more, so they fell to and ate. He noticed though, that Yumi was very quiet for the rest of the meal. He wondered what she thought about all of it, but her face was so hard to read. He supposed that only time would tell.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven – Musical Interlude

Yumi walked around her apartment, fingers twitching as she worked out the thought in her head. She had the next line of the melody somewhere inside of her, but each time that she tried to figure it out, her brain faltered.

She was in love, she knew that much. She also knew that she wasn't about to let go of Tsubasa for any reason, no matter how frightened she was of the risks he took. She had thought that the boxing was the worst of it, but the danger he faced in the ring was positively tame next to his life as Magi Yellow.

"C,c,a,f-sharp," she muttered, still trying to work out the next line, even though she knew it was futile with her mind in such disarray.

Each time she sat down at the piano, a series of jangling discordant notes was all that came out of her. The conversation with the Ozu family had been enlightening, but also rather disturbing. Being Magical Guardians of the Earth seemed to involve a lot of danger, yet she couldn't imagine asking Tsubasa to stop doing it any more than she could ask him to stop boxing.

Tomorrow her father was coming up and they were all going to a nearby restaurant to meet, talk and get to know each other. It was bad enough that she knew she would be fighting an uphill battle with her mother, but to have to keep secrets from her beloved father was very hard. Yet, how could she explain magic, monsters and everything else to him? He was a physicist, a brilliant scientist, and the only area in which they had never been in agreement was her premonitions, which he thought were merely coincidences.

The leap beyond her minor psychic flashes to full-blown wizards was not one she could imagine him making with any ease.

Her eyes drifted shut and she remembered that terrible moment of dissolution when Siren pulled her soul apart, the horrible fear and the sense of loss flowed over her again and then, Tsubasa's voice calling her back somehow, their bond strong enough to break Siren's magic.

No matter what her family thought of him, she would not give up something that precious and that rare. She did not think of herself as a fighter, but if she had to fight for this love, she would do so with everything in her.

With that resolution the next line suddenly came to her and she returned to the piano and began to play.

The next morning, she rose and quickly made herself some breakfast and packed a Bento box. She had a long day of recording at the studio ahead of her and doubted that she would even have time to break for lunch.

When the door buzzer sounded she jerked up in surprise and her hand knocked the bottle of soy sauce off the counter where it shattered on the floor. Flustered, Yumi dropped a rag on the mess and ran for the door.

"O-hiyo!" her neighbor stood outside her door, smiling and with a magazine in her hand.

"Ah! Himaki-san! O-hiyo," she returned and bowed.

"It's early, I know, but I had to show this to you!" The old woman, plump and somewhat breathless, with her short curly hair and round face looked excited and pleased, but when the magazine fell open Yumi felt a chill go through her.

The gossip magazine had a picture of Tsubasa and herself from the boxing match and underneath was an article speculating on how long they had been dating. She scanned it quickly, horror mounting. It was a terrible intrusion into the privacy that she valued so highly and also, the magazine was one that she knew her mother read.

"It's so exciting, he's very handsome!" Her neighbor gushed and winked at her. Yumi blushed and felt the sudden urge to flee the other woman's knowing eyes. Hadn't she just told herself that she would fight for him, she thought suddenly, and stiffened her spine. She smiled at Himaki-san and even though she was still blushing nodded.

"He's wonderful," she admitted and the woman's smile got broader..

"I am so glad for you, Kimura-san, you are always so very much alone, you worried me! I'm so happy that this boy found you!" Yumi gaped at her neighbor's words, worried about her? Really? Himaki-san was a gossip, but she was also a very kind person, Yumi realized.

"Thank you, I'm very happy too," she admitted, though it was still so hard to be open like that, her mother would have frowned to see her being so friendly to a low born person such as Himaki-san. But Yumi hadn't cared for a long time what her mother thought. She glanced down at the article again and sighed, though the scene this was going to cause would be unpleasant. Her watch beeped and Yumi jumped again, she was going to be late for work if she didn't scamper. Blurting her apologies, she raced off, forgetting her bento box and the broken glass on her kitchen floor.

Miyumi stood by the kitchen sink, her hands stilled from washing the dishes. She supposed she could use magic to finish the chore, but she actually liked doing things for her family by hand most times, it made her feel good.

Outside, Makito was in the garden with Sakura, the two of them planting bulbs for next spring, their heads together as they worked, perfectly in harmony. Sakura looked up at her son with an expression of such love and trust that Miyumi smiled and dropped her eyes. Two children happily spoken for and two more who seemed as though they were getting there.

Kai she had expected to keep true to his soccer manager, but Tsubasa….now that was unexpected.

She hadn't been there for the whole Mamiya Rei incident, but Urara had told her all about it and it had broken her heart just listening. She had always known that Tsubasa was most like her of all her boys and she had only ever loved one man. That Tsubasa had found love a second time pleased her greatly. Urara had been so worried for her brother… Urara…

On that thought she pulled her wand and was about to cast when the doorbell rang. She put her Magiphone away and went to answer it.

The woman on her doorstep was dressed in the height of fashion. Her hair was perfectly coiffed, her nails elegantly manicured and she was dressed in a suit that must have cost more than all the clothes in Miyumi's closet. Her face though was strangely familiar, though Miyumi couldn't quite place it.

"Ah, O-hiyo, may I help you?" she asked, startled and confused..

"This is the Ozu house?" she asked coldly distant like the moon. At Miyumi's nod she continued. "Is Ozu Tsubasa here?" she asked next and Miyumi relaxed, this woman must be a reporter or producer, someone was always trying to get Tsubasa to do a commercial or something.

"My son is at the gym today, actually, he has a match next week that he is preparing for." She smiled at the woman, but received no answer.

"You are his mother?" this stranger raked her with cold eyes and frowned.

"Excuse me, but you are?" Miyumi suddenly found that she didn't like this woman one bit.

"Kimura Yukio," the cold-eyed woman replied and handed her a business card. The paper was a heavy creamy vellum with an embossed silver image of the moon above the title Kimura Yukio, Marketing Director, and the name of the company "Moonlight Cosmetics". Miyumi knew the company well, her elder daughter had a drawer full of their products and their ads were everywhere, they were one of the biggest companies in Japan for make-up.

"Pleased to meet you, I am Ozu Miyuki," she returned with a bow, and Kimura-san bowed in return, though only a little and Miyuki tried not to bristle at the snobbery inherent in it. After all, from the outside she was simply a middle class housewife, not a powerful magician and wife of a Heavenly Saint, there was no reason for this very rich, powerful woman to see her as an equal.

"I have come to discuss your son with you," Kimura-san continued and Miyumi blinked and invited her inside.

Fetching tea and pouring for the other woman helped settle her temper and by the time they were sipping at their cups, she was back to feeling calm and relaxed.

"Have you seen this?" Kimura-san asked suddenly and pulled a gossip magazine out.

"I don't read such things," Miyumi admitted with a shrug.

"This one you might find interesting," the sharpness with which she said that made Miyuki wary again and she took the magazine, opening it to where Kimura-san had indicated. An article about Tsubasa and Yumi-chan, she noted and then Yumi's last name caught her eye. Kimura. Her heart sank and she turned to study the woman before her.

The resemblance was suddenly clear to her, in features, Yumi was very much like her mother, but her personality was so different that until it was pointed out she hadn't been able to see it.

"Yumi-chan is your daughter!" she exclaimed in surprise and watched the other woman's mouth tighten.

"Yumi-san is indeed my child," she answered back, obviously displeased by Miyumi's casual address towards Yumi.

"She is a lovely girl, with beautiful manners," Miyumi murmured, trying to soothe the other woman, but the frown only grew deeper.

"You have met her?"

"She came for dinner with the family, last week," Miyumi returned and suddenly realized what was going on. "You didn't know?" It was softly asked, but Yumi's mother flushed even so.

"My daughter apparently forgot to mention it," came the coldly polite reply.

"They have only been dating a short time, perhaps she wished to be more certain of her attachment before troubling you," Miyumi suggested, sensing that she was treading on dangerous ground here.

"My family is very proud, Ozu-san, we have standards to maintain. You seem a nice person, but you must understand that I cannot allow my daughter to date your son." The words were said with clam precision, and Miyumi found herself stunned by them. "A boxer? This is not acceptable. My parents would be deeply shocked by this. I must ask that your son break off this relationship at once."

"No." the two women both turned in surprise. Tsubasa was standing in the doorway, glaring at Yumi's mother. "I will do no such thing." Miyumi could see the deep anger in him and had a sudden feeling of alarm. He was still in his gym clothes, boxing gloves dangling from his hand.

"You are not worthy of her," Kimura-san retorted, eyeing him with distaste.

"I know that," his answer seemed to surprise her, but before she could say anything more he continued. "But I love her and I will not lose her again." He turned then and left, the door slamming as he went.

"Again?" Kimura-san asked and Miyumi shrugged her ignorance, though she was starting to have a suspicion. Urara, what have you done?

Tsubasa headed to the studio, he needed to see Yumi, to talk to her. The sight of her mother had chilled him. He had stood in the hallway for a long time listening to the cold venomous words flowing out of her and he had suddenly understood everything that made Yumi-chan so shy and reserved. Comparing her to his own mother had been a revelation, no wonder she had said that she liked his family better than her own.

At the door to the studio he paused. It had a buzzer and a speaker phone and he didn't know if they would let him in..

"Lightening Fist!" a joyful cry came from behind him and he turned to see the idol singer that Yumi worked with. She had a group of people with her, her manager and other staff, he guessed and they were all looking at him with interest.

"Ah! Chi-chan?" he asked, realizing that he knew very little about her. She smiled broadly at him, her face dimpling into an adorable smile.

"Are you here to see Yumi-chan?" she asked next and at his nod she clapped her hands in delight. "Wonderful! I am so glad!" Her exuberant reply made him smile despite himself and she quickly dragged him into the studio, her entourage coming in behind them.

"I'm glad too," an older woman murmured to him. "She needs a nice boy, not that parade of stuck up businessmen her mother keeps sending to her." The sharp look he gave her must have told her much, because she leaned closer as they walked, her brightly painted nails waving as she gestured. "That woman is awful!"

Tsubasa had much to think on as they rode the elevator up.

Yumi was deep into the song, hands moving without thought, her mind far away and drifting on the wings of the melody. She had finished it last night and was very pleased with it. She thought that it expressed the fluttery feelings of joy and nervousness she felt around Tsubasa perfectly.

"You look at me and my heart floats, you laugh and I laugh too, there is nothing more precious than this," she sang for the Producer in the booth, her voice soft and somewhat faint, but he nodded as the song ended

"Pretty, I think it will do well for Chi-chan," he told her and she smiled in pleasure. His rare words of praise were always treasured, since he never told her the pretty lies that some of the production folk did. Goto-san was always straight with her and she felt it made her a much better artist to hear his honest criticism.

"Thank you," she bowed from the keyboard and then turned to the door as it opened. Chi-chan bounced in with a huge smile for everyone and they all found themselves smiling back at her. She was so cheerful and sweet, so openhearted in her delight that you couldn't help but like her.

"Guess who's here in the booth," Chi-chan whispered to her as she came over. Yumi blinked in surprise and shook her head. "Your boyfriend, Ozu Tsubasa!" she revealed and Yumi blushed bright pink. "You're so cute!" Chi-chan squealed as she stammered and tried to think of what to say.

"When you are done, perhaps we can start this session, ladies?" Genji-sensei growled from the booth and Chi-chan jumped up and headed to the mike with a grin.

Tsubasa watched Yumi playing with a strange sort of constriction around his heart. He hadn't lied to Yumi's mother, he loved her. It wasn't just the memory of Rei either that drove this feeling. Yumi was special, even if he hadn't known her past life, he would have fallen for her, for her kindness, her gentleness, her acceptance of all that he was without judgment or prejudice. She looked at him and he felt cared for because who he was inside of himself. He wouldn't let that be taken from him, not again.

"I wish I could get her to sing on one of the albums," the producer sighed, "She has such a beautiful voice, even though she won't project at all."

"Hah! Might as well wish for wings, Goto-san," the elderly engineer chortled and the producer nodded. He eyed Tsubasa warily.

"I suppose you want to marry her and make her give up all of this?" his voice was irritable, but he looked genuinely regretful.

"I couldn't ask her to stop, it wouldn't be fair," he replied, choosing not to answer the first question. He knew what he wanted, but he wasn't yet certain what Yumi felt. "She would be miserable if she had to stop performing." The producer raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. He shrugged off the speculative looks of the two older men and turned back to watch Yumi play. He knew that there was also another selfish reason why he would never ask her to stop; he got too much joy from listening to her songs.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Storm Watch

At lunch she sat beside him and he handed her a hastily procured tako ball from a street vendor's cart.

"I can't believe I forgot my bento box," she mourned. "But my neighbor showed me this article about us in a magazine and I got so flustered. What if my mother saw it, I haven't had time to speak to her yet, prepare her…" she trailed off as she saw a look of anger cross his face.

"She saw it." His voice was frozen over and she felt suddenly faint.

"How do you know?"

"Because she told my mother all about it." The tightness in his jaw bespoke a deep anger and Yumi's stomach plummeted into her shoes.

"What did she say?" the question came out as barely a whisper and his eyes when they turned to her flashed sudden concern.

"It's okay, Yumi, she can't stop me from caring about you!" he reassured her and she let out the breath she had been holding. "You were right though, she doesn't approve of me, or my family, I left the house before she did so I don't know how Mom got rid of her."

"Your house? She went to your house?" Sudden rage swept through her as she imagined sweet Miyumi-san confronted with her icy cold mother in full "Great Lady" mode.

"Mother _was_ somewhat taken aback," he admitted and fury threatened to overwhelm Yumi.

"I must apologize to your mother! I am so sorry!" She was stammering, feeling utterly furious and humiliated. "What she must think of me!"

"Yumi-chan!" Tsubasa cried and she felt his hands wrapping around her own, where they were clenched in her lap. "It's okay, we have faced down a dark God, your mother is hardly a challenge for us." He smiled at her and she found her anger fading, though her embarrassment was still there.

"It's nice to know that mother isn't quite as bad as a dark God," she murmured, still unsure, but he laughed and squeezed her hands again before letting go. His phone rang and he sighed, but she shook her head. "I need to get back to work anyway."

"I will see you after work," he assured her and she smiled at him, feeling warm and happy. He had faced her mother and still wanted to be with her. It was going to be all right.

She would have to call her father though and see what could be done.

In the history of miserable evenings, this one had to be the worst, Yumi decided. The restaurant was elegant and expensive, chosen no doubt by her mother so as to intimidate the Ozu family. After the morning's visit, Yumi hadn't imagined that the dinner her father had planned for them would still happen, but she had underestimated her mother. She sat there in her tailored clothes, looking coolly elegant and refined, staring down her nose at Tsubasa and his family.

One raised brow had sent Makito into a stuttering nervousness and then Yumi had watched him fall silent, something she hadn't imagined him capable of. Houka and Kai were equally quiet, leaving Tsubasa, Yumi, and her father as the only ones talking. Isamu and Miyuki spoke, but they kept their sentences short and noncommittal. Isamu especially looked as though he wanted nothing more than to either make a very cutting remark or escape quickly, his lips were pressed together so hard she was afraid he might hurt himself.

Tsubasa squeezed her hand under the table and she shot him a look of affection. His family was not happy to be there, but they were putting up with her mother for his sake. She was deeply grateful, but also frightened that despite his brave words of this afternoon her mother would succeed in driving him away.

"I did not quite catch what you do, Ozu-san?" Yukio asked in a blandly polite voice. Isamu blinked at her in surprise.

"Perhaps because I had not mentioned it?" he replied, his tone polite, but his eyes flashing.

"Isamu is an explorer," Miyuki cut in. "He leads expeditions to bring back botanical specimens and such." Her soothing tones were meant to diffuse the tension in the room, but even she was hard pressed to stay calm as Yukio's surprised countenance managed to convey without words how little she thought of such a profession.

"Mother…" Yumi began, her voice decidedly unsteady. She would not just sit here and let her insult Tsubasa's family like this.

"I have made a great deal of progress in my research lately," her father interrupted somewhat loudly, "hopefully my theorem should be complete in a few months." It was an awkward interjection, but it served to give an opening to Miyuki.

"How interesting, please tell us about your research." The next half hour was taken up with her father explaining his theories on quantum entanglement and while it was probably not the most scintillating of subjects, it served to turn her mother away from baiting the Ozus.

By desert even her father looked weary of the constant attempts to keep the conversation civil. Yumi could feel tears pricking behind her eyes as she watched the happy cheerful Ozu clan reduced to morose one syllable replies. Only Miyuki and her father were left to maintain the charade of friendly conversation.

"Tsubasa-san, what will you do after you have stopped boxing?" Yukio asked her boyfriend suddenly. He looked her steadily in the eye as he answered, apparently still undaunted by her.

"I was going to teach young boxers at Jun-sensei's gym. He was a great boxer once himself, " he answered softly.

Something happened then, her mother's face froze over and her father went pale.

"Tsukade Jun?" her mother asked with her teeth clenched.

"Uh, yes, do you know him?" Tsubasa seemed as startled as Yumi herself was. Her mother knew the name of a boxer?

"We were acquainted once," she answered, her voice gone cool and remote again, but Yumi saw her father wince and she wondered at it.

"I had no idea," Yumi answered him later and Tsubasa shook his head. After the revelation that her mother knew his trainer, the conversation had gone more smoothly, if only because Yukio hadn't said another word after that. "I can't imagine how she would have met him. She was the daughter of a great family, she always had servants, chauffeurs, she told me her parents never let her go anywhere that wasn't carefully checked out first."

Tsubasa was horrified by her words, Yumi said it offhand, as though it were nothing, but he couldn't imagine being so sheltered and controlled.

I suppose we could ask Jun-sensei," he answered but Yumi frowned.

"Something about it made my father very uncomfortable, I think that we should leave it alone." She seemed pensive and he wondered if it were love of her father, or some small premonition that was driving her thoughts. Still, if it was something painful, he didn't want to hurt Jun-sensei either.

The next day at practice he was angry and distracted, though and Jun-sensei was watching him with a frown.

"What happened last night?" he asked and Tsubasa couldn't think of any reason not to tell him.

"Yumi-chan's mother is what happened," he grimaced and the older man snorted in amusement.

"Doesn't like you, eh?" There was some bitter amusement there, but also a touch of empathy that surprised Tsubasa.

"Not much, no. Kimura Yukio is a cold hearted witch!" he grumbled, thinking more of the miserable childhood Yumi had suffered through than the conversation from last night.

"Yukio?" Jun-sensei asked with a sudden harshness to his voice that made Tsubasa look up at him in surprise. "You don't know what her maiden name was, do you?" Whatever had been in his mentor's voice before was now absent and Tsubasa wondered if he had imagined it.

"How could I not, she made sure to mention it several times during the meal! She was born Maeda Yukio." If he had not been looking right at Jun-sensei he would never have seen the tightening of his mouth or the way his body seemed to flinch as though from a blow.

"Ah ha! Well, isn't that interesting. Sorry you had a bad evening!" Higa-san said suddenly, interrupting the discussion and stepping between Tsubasa and his trainer. He let himself be distracted from the conversation only because he had a sudden suspicion that he had stepped into something both more painful and more private than he had imagined.

Chi-chan had arrived that morning seeming distracted and unfocused. Her normally cheerful demeanor was absent and she didn't even have a smile for Yumi, which was very strange. She sang with all her usual skill and ability, but there was a melancholy air to even the most upbeat of pop songs. By lunchtime Sato-buchõ was sounding worried from the booth and called of the rest of the session.

Chi-chan went home looking, if anything, more morose than when she had arrived that morning. Yumi was very worried for her,

Stepping out of the studio she caught sight of Tsubasa standing by the fountain watching clouds gathering on the horizon.

"It's early in the year for a storm," she commented, slipped her hand into his.

"I know, it's strange," he replied, his fingers warm and solid, as they stood holding hands and watching the sky.

"Do you mind if we go visit Chi-chan? She was very upset today and I'm worried about her." She was biting her lip, hoping that he wouldn't mind too much. He frowned, but his answer warmed her heart.

"Upset? Of course we should go see her, maybe we can do something to help." He looked genuinely concerned and she smiled up at him. He was the most wonderful man ever, she decided.

They were on the landing to her apartment when the premonition hit. Yumi shivered and stopped Tsubasa from ringing the bell. She had a sudden feeling of overwhelming fear and when he looked at her enquiringly, she patted the pocket where he kept his Magiphone. His eyes widened and he moved to the side of the door, drawing out the phone.

Yumi knocked lightly on the door and wasn't completely surprised when the door swung open silently on its hinges. She had planned to step back but to her consternation she found her feet moving her forwards of their own volition. She shot a panicked look at Tsubasa as a sudden wind sucked her into the apartment and the door slammed shut behind her.

Tsubasa watched in horror as Yumi was drawn into the room by a violent wind, her face was filled with fear and he grabbed at her, but she was gone and the door shut behind her with a loud bang.

He dialed his mother and before she had a chance to say more than "Mo…" he gave her the address in a voice far more calm than the panicked beating of his heart and told him to bring the family as fast as she could.

He put his hand against the door and a sudden shock sent him flying back against the opposite wall and his vision exploded in red and white sparkles.

Yumi pulled her head up from the floor where she had fallen and looked around the room. Huge spider webs hung from the ceiling, looking surreal against the wood paneling and elegant furniture of the apartment. Wrapped in cocoons, their heads the only free part of them were Chi-chan and the five members of her retinue. They were awake and staring at her, eyes wide in horror and fear. Their mouths were gagged by more of the webs, and they were stuck to the walls in different parts of the room. Chi-chan was crying and Yumi pulled herself to her feet and still feeling dizzy and winded, lurched towards the idol.

Webbing shot at her through the doorway into the kitchen and Yumi felt it coming a moment before it struck. She threw herself to the side, dodging it and screamed.

"Help me!"

"Help me!" Yumi's scream was both frightened and angry and he hauled himself to his feet with some difficulty. He suspected that he had a broken rib or two, but it was a minor consideration with Yumi trapped inside with heaven knew what. He transformed and this time just blasted the door open with his crossbow.

The time for subtlety was over.

She watched the bloated figure of the spider woman crawl out of the kitchen and across the ceiling with horror and revulsion. She had the face, arms, and torso of a beautiful girl, but the rest of her body was something out of a nightmare. The creature smiled and sharp fanged teeth glinted at Yumi in the afternoon sun that streamed through the windows. She felt the chill of a premonition and quickly dodged the next spray of webbing, rolling frantically away from the creature.

The front door exploded open with a sound like a sonic boom and Yumi kept moving, wanting to be sure that she was out of Tsubasa's way as he came in. He was in his Magi Yellow form now and the last thing she wanted to do was distract him.

She crawled behind the couch and put her head down, trusting in her special sense to warn her of danger.

Tsubasa knew his family would be here soon, so he moved cautiously further into the room, he4 just had to keep the Yumi and the others safe until the family arrived. Yumi, he saw, had quickly sought cover and he felt a flash of pride in how well she kept her cool under fire.

"Magician…" The spider woman growled and he shifted his feet in anticipation of her attack. She spat webbing at him and he deflected it with his bow caster, feeling the sheer power of the attack drive him back a step. From nearby, he spotted the woman who had chatted with him at the studio, Chi-chan, and the other members of her staff webbed against the walls. Their terrified faces looked down at him with silent pleas for assistance and he felt a burst of anger at the demon. They were good people and they didn't deserve to be terrorized like this.

"Demon!" He shouted and cast a bolt of lightening at her. She dodged nimbly, her eight legs giving her great speed and agility. She was moving past him towards the couch again.

"You are not my prey, Magician, give me the Clear Sighted one and you can have the rest of them!" She informed him in a voice filled with malice and cruelty. Clear sighted one? What was she talking about? Tsubasa was baffled until he saw the webbing shooting out at Yumi again.

Amazingly, she rolled away an instant before the attack could connect with her and it hit the ground inches behind her.

"No!" he cried as she flung herself away from another attack. He flung himself at the spider woman, frantically attacking her, trying to draw her away from his girlfriend. He didn't know why she was his target, but he would die before he let anything happen to her.

"Magician!" Yumi's scream warned him of his danger as the monster spat more webbing at him. It impacted his chest and blasted him back against the wall.

The monster leaped at him and Yumi screamed in terror for him. A blast of ice hit the spider woman in the side and drove her away from Tsubasa and another blast, this time of fire, freed him from the webbing.

His parents charged into the room, spells blasting from their wands and the spider woman screamed again and then exploded into a mass of black webbing that caught fire and burned away to ashes under the combined powers of his parent's magics.

Wolzard Fire, red armor gleaming, turned to rescue the trapped people, while Magimother went to help Yumi. Tsubasa, still in his armor, watched as Yumi smiled up at his mother and thanked her very politely, as she might a stranger. Thinking back, he realized that, even as terrified as she must have been, she had never revealed his identity to Chi-chan and the others.

"Everyone all right?" he asked and the bedraggled idol singer nodded.

"Yumi," she wailed. "I'm so sorry, it said it would free the others if I got you to come here. Pleases forgive me!" Chi-chan was deeply distraught, but Tsubasa was touched by her loyalty to the others, they were obviously not just employees to her, but trusted friends.

"You did exactly right!" Yumi assured her and gave the younger girl a quick hug. "I would have been mad at you if you hadn't tried to save everyone!" Chi-chan hugged Yumi back, tears still falling down her face and Tsubasa remembered just how young the girl was. "Besides the Magicians saved us, so everything is fine!"

Tsubasa and his parents were thanked by the whole group and then they slipped out. Yumi looked up and gave him a nod as he left and he returned it. She understood why he had to go and he loved her all the more for her courage and strength.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Dragon's Den

Yumi sat quietly, hands folded in her lap, ankles crossed, her posture that of a perfectly trained lady. The dress of purple silk with the delicate embroidery around the neck and hem was expensive and elegant. With calm sure hands she served the tea and listened attentively to her grandmother's conversation.

The elderly woman was wearing deceptively simple gold jacket over a black dress of simple design and which perfectly fit her slender frame. Sharp black eyes watched Yumi over the rim of the teacup and the flash of her rings as she put the cup back down revealed, to the discerning eye, her wealth and taste.

"A boxer?" her grandmother repeated with an expressionless face that revealed nothing to her granddaughter.

"The Asian Bantam weight champion," she added, not certain whether his success in this area would work for or against him with her formidable grandmother. The old lady had not earned the title of the "Maeda Dragon" for nothing after all, even Yumi's mother was frightened of her.

"So," Maeda Kimiko replied and gestured for he cup to be refilled. Yumi did as she was bid and schooled herself to patience. Grandmother was not to be won over by being rash or upset. Getting her to side with Yumi against her mother would require delicacy and tact. "I hear that his family is large," the old woman continued and Yumi allowed herself a fond smile for the Ozu clan and their warm, affectionate, and boisterous household.

"He is one of five children." She answered with serene tones and sipped her tea.

The Maeda estate was the exact opposite of the bustling Ozu home. For three generations her mother's family had lived in this home, and the antique furniture Yumi was presently sitting on was only one example of the rare and precious things that were carefully tended by the household staff. Despite that, the house did not look like a museum. It was a sharp contrast to Yumi's own home where everything was breakable and untouchable. Grandmother Kimiko had a home that a child could play in. It was one of the reasons that Yumi had come to her, despite how long the drive out to Shibuya was,

Her grandmother couldn't be too upset with her, Yumi reasoned, since she had had her settled into the western style sitting room in the newer part of the house, rather than making her sit saiza on tatami in the more formal tea room, nor had she refused to see her at all, which had been possible. These little signs were encouraging.

"Tell me about his family," Grandmother asked and with a feeling of relief, Yumi gave her an account of her boyfriend's family. Leaving out the magical aspect was difficult, but she didn't think that she had done too bad a job by the end of it.

Her grandmother was still watching her with her sharp eyes and Yumi wondered if she had done well by Tsubasa's kin or not. It was so hard to tell with the Maeda Dragon.

Tsubasa pounded the bag with a feeling of deep annoyance. For once, the satisfying thunk of his glove against his stuffed opponent failed to ease his heart. Yumi had vanished off on some mysterious trip out of Tokyo yesterday and her father had called Miyuki to tell her that his wife was still dead set against Yumi dating Tsubasa, despite his best efforts. He had sounded sad and tired, Miyuki told him, and Tsubasa had the added worry that his relationship with Yumi was straining her parent's marriage. He missed her greatly and was concerned as to where she could have gone. He was also worried that she could still be a target for some monster and for reasons he didn't understand.

"Focus!" Jun-sensei shouted and smacked the back of his head. It wasn't a hard slap, Tsubasa barely felt it, but he was instantly shamed by the rebuke. "If you fight like this tonight, you will lose for sure!"

"Sorry," he murmured, knowing that his coach was completely right.

"It's that girl, isn't it?" Higa-san sighed from his place on a nearby bench.

"Yes," he admitted and felt a flush on his cheeks. He had always been able to control his feelings, but first Mamiya Rei and now her re-incarnation Kimura Yumi had managed to overturn his heart and mind.

"You'd do well to forget her, boy, that family is too far above you," Jun-sensei growled and the undercurrent of bitterness and pain in his voice made Tsubasa's heart ache for him.

"I can't do that," he replied softly and went back to pounding the bag.

He stepped into the ring that evening feeling both angry and depressed. His parents hadn't said anything against Yumi, but after the terrible dinner with her mother they had seemed subdued and rather sad. He didn't know his father as well as would like, but he could read his mother's worry plainly. She was concerned that his heart was going to be broken again and if he were honest with himself, so was he.

The match started and he was feeling off balance from the start. His opponent was one of the European champions, a short German man with a black buzz cut and very fast fists. Tsubasa was dodging and weaving, but with little of his usual skill and he knew he was likely to lose against so determined an opponent.

"You can do it, Tsubasa!" Came a shout from the audience and he snapped his head around as he heard the voice. There, in the audience, sandwiched between his elder brother and an elderly woman in a black coat, was Yumi. She was smiling and cheering him on. He felt a surge of joy and lunged at the German with renewed vigor.

After that, the bout was as good as over.

Yumi watched in satisfaction as Tsubasa knocked the other man down and the referee began the count. Beside her, her grandmother smiled a little.

"Your young man has excellent footwork," she commented and Yumi tried not to choke. She turned wide eyes on her grandmother whose face had returned to coolly impassive. "I was young once too, you know," she added in a scolding tone. Yumi had no idea how to answer that.

Makito smiled down at her Grandmother with his usual good humor and exuberance.

"Tsubasa did really well!" Whether he was talking about the match or about Yumi, she didn't know, but the way he said it made her blush.

Makito did a great job of breaking a path for them to the locker room area, but Yumi noticed that her grandmother's sharp stare was also extremely effective. No one wanted to mess with the old lady.

"Yumi!" Tsubasa pushed past the doctor to her and she ran forwards to meet him. They stood there for a long moment just smiling at each other, before her grandmother carefully cleared her throat.

"Ah! Sorry! Maeda Kimiko, may I introduce Ozu Tsubasa! Tsubasa, please meet my grandmother," she introduced them with the proper formal phrasing and watched Tsubasa's eyes widen. He bowed respectfully to her.

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Ozu Tsubasa," grandmother said as she bowed in return.

"I am honored that you came tonight," Tsubasa replied with a gracious tone.

"How could I not, my granddaughter insisted that you were something wondrous to behold." Her voice was soft, but the twinkle in her eye told Yumi that her grandmother was not at all displeased with Tsubasa. "I cannot say that she was wrong," Kimiko added and Tsubasa blushed at the praise. She extended her hand to Yumi. "Your doctor seems impatient to tend to you, we will wait outside."

Tsubasa floated over to the table and didn't notice the doctor at all as he bandaged and taped up his injuries.

"That was a very scary old lady," Higa-san muttered from beside him and Tsubasa came down to earth long enough to smile at him.

"She seemed very kind to me," Tsubasa answered, still somewhat dreamy feeling. Yumi had come to his match and she had been smiling and happy. Things must be better with her family. Hope soared in his heart.

"She was not at all what I expected," Jun-sensei, his face full of confusion, added and Tsubasa looked at him with curiosity.

"When I was young I dated Maeda Yukio. She made it seem that her mother would never allow the match and she dumped me. I wonder now if that was so." It was a long speech from Jun-sensei and Tsubasa suddenly understood why his mentor had been so sensitive about Yumi before.

"She seems to approve of Tsubasa-kun," Higa-san muttered and then both men fell silent.

They were seated at dinner and Tsubasa was being gently grilled by Kimiko-san. Her black eyes seemed to miss nothing and he gaining new levels of respect for the elderly woman with every question.

"And once you have defeated the American champions, what are your plans?"

"Well, the Japanese national boxing team has requested that I try out for the Olympics and I would like to do that." Yumi gave him a look of surprised delight and he smiled back at her. "Depending on the results of my try-out I will either compete at the Olympics or finish with the American boxers and then retire."

"What are your plans for your retirement?" was her next question and like all the previous ones, she asked it in a neutral tone that had no sense of either approval or disapproval in it.

"I wanted to open my own training center and teach children to box," he admitted and she raised an eyebrow in way that invited him to continue. "There are lots of kids who need structure and discipline in their lives, boxing can give that to them." She was watching him with those dark eyes of hers, her gaze was straightforward and clear, much like Yumi's.

The spider-woman's comment came back to him. Clear Eyed One, she called Yumi, like it meant something particular.

"My daughter, Yukio, will probably not ever like you or your family, young man, but if you don't care for that, you have no obstacle in me." She was looking out the window as she said it and Yumi smiled at him with such warmth and happiness that he was hard pressed not to shout for sheer joy.

"Thank you, Maeda-san, it does make me sad that your daughter is unhappy, especially as it makes stress with Kimura-san." He ran a hand through his hair, feeling a pang for Yumi's father.

The elderly woman chortled suddenly and they both looked at her in surprise.

"Yes, Yukio has that poor man completely under her control, doesn't she?" Tsubasa gaped a bit and then closed his mouth quickly as Maeda-san shook her head. "You won't let my Yumi run over you, Tsubasa-kun, nor will you run over her, it will be a much better situation than what her parents have."

Tsubasa nodded at Yumi, he knew that what the elderly woman was saying was completely true. They respected each other and neither of them would ever try to make the other over into something they were not. She smiled back at him, thoughtful, but obviously in agreement with her grandmother.

Of course it was nowhere near as easy as Maeda-san had made it sound. Yukio had thrown a well-bred fit when her mother informed her that she was to leave Yumi and Tsubasa be.

Still the second dinner with the two families went off much better than the first. Yukio might have maintained a stony silence throughout, but her mother made up for it with her graciousness and genuine warmth.

There had been an odd moment when she first met the family, Tsubasa had noted that her keen eyes had widened a bit when Isamu was presented to her and she blinked suddenly when meeting Hikaru, by the time she met Ki Sakura, she seemed a little dazed, but she shook it off quickly and in truth, Tsubasa wasn't sure it wasn't his imagination that gave these slight changes in expression any significance.

Later that evening, Tsubasa found himself flopped on the soft gold-toned couch in Yumi's apartment feeling as though he had gone twenty rounds in the ring.

She brought the tea and set it down in front of him, pouring for him with her perfect manners and for just an instant he felt like she was very far away from him. Then she looked up and he saw the warmth in her eyes and everything was all right again. Their families might be worlds apart but they were joined together so deeply that the distance between them seemed like nothing at all.

"Yumi," he started and she looked at him with a smile that made his heart flutter. "I'm glad that we found each other again." He had meant to say something else, something romantic, but words seemed so inadequate for how he felt.

She reached out and took his hand and he wrapped his fingers around hers.

"Me too," she smiled back at him and he knew that she understood completely.

Isamu watched as Sakura and Makito wandered through the front garden, hands intertwined and happy voices drifting on the night breeze. Miyuki came up beside him and slipped her own hand into his.

"I think they will be very happy together," she murmured, leaning against him, and he nodded, knowing that she meant not the couple before them, but Tsubasa and Yumi.

"I hope the old dragon will be content with the match as well," he answered back and Miyuki chuckled.

"That was a bit of a surprise, wasn't it!"

"True, but since one son is marrying a cherry tree, it only seems natural for the other to marry a dragon's grand child, after all, their sister married a Heavenly Saint." He shrugged his shoulders in resignation. They were hardly a normal family, after all, it only stood to reason that the children would end up with not-so-normal spouses. Only Kai seemed to be bucking tradition, which was only to be expected, so similar was he to his father.

Miyuki's laughter warmed the night and he drew her close to him, deeply grateful for the happiness they had won.

Miyuki's phone rang just then and he watched her flip it open and listen. A huge smile spread across her face.

"We will all come immediately Hikaru, of course!" She closed the phone and looked at him with excited eyes. "We are about to be grandparents!"

Yumi held tightly to Tsubasa, her arms wrapped around his waist and tried very hard not to think about how high they were off the ground. The roar of the broom's engine was deafening, but she could still hear her heart pounding crazily in her chest. She had absolute faith in Tsubasa, so she wasn't scared, but she also wasn't so sure that a broomstick was ever going to be her preferred mode of travel.

The rose through the clouds and she shivered at the sudden cold. Warmth spread out from Tsubasa to envelop her and she burrowed into his back. Around them other broomsticks flew upwards through the clouds and she turned her head enough to see Kai and Yuka to her right, Yuka looking far more comfortable with her perch than Yumi was just then.

Just beyond them Makito and Sakura flew, the gentle Sakura seeming completely unfazed by flying. She had her usual look of serene joy and Yumi didn't know if it were because she was with Makito or if was just a natural expression of who she was. Even after several weeks of acquaintance, Yumi found Sakura quite baffling.

All of her attention was captured though as they burst through the clouds and were flying above floating islands of surpassing beauty. It was incredible and part of her mind was taken up with figuring out what held them up. Years of her father's lectures made her shake her head in wonder and awe. She was looking at the impossible.

They drifted through the star strewn sky to land on one of the floating islands. It was as though someone had plucked a mountain up from the ground and set it on a cloud, houses and gardens dotted the hillsides and where the ocean would have been, empty sky stretched and Yumi felt small and cold. Tsubasa, no longer in his armored form, wrapped an arm around her and she realized that she was shivering. It wasn't that she was scared, she realized, just overcome by how beautiful and strange everything was.

A woman in purple, white, and blue robes came running out of a large sprawling villa and they all moved to meet up with her. Her face was luminous and lovely and she was grinning broadly. The villa behind her was painted in blues and gold and had a large sun with radiating arms set on top of it.

"You made it!" the smiling woman cried gladly and the whole Ozu clan started to talk and chatter all on top of each other. Yumi found herself being swept along with the whole loud excited clan.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Dangerous Songs

Chi-chan seemed to be recovering well from her fright, Yumi thought to herself as she played. Two weeks of rehearsal and work and they were finally ready to record the new single. If the petite idol seemed more subdued than she used to be, it didn't seem to be affecting her voice or her performances. They had done a live concert the other day at a children's hospital and Chi-chan had been bright and perky with the children, signing autographs and taking pictures with her trademark cheerful smile firmly in place.

They finished for the day and Yumi began to fold away her music, a new song already starting up in her mind. She had an urge to make the moment of Kazuki's birth into a sweet lullaby, something soft, like rain falling through sunshine.

Hmm, she thought, that's a good line. She jotted it down and turned to see that she was now alone in the studio. She must have been so absorbed in the new song that the other musicians had left without her noticing.

Well, she chuckled to herself, it wouldn't be the first time.

She finished putting away her things and swung her bag over her shoulder. She smiled thinking about Hikaru-san, carrying the baby out to hand to Miyuki. His face had been full of incandescent joy and he carried his infant son as though the child would shatter if he looked at him wrong. His and Urara's bliss had been wonderful to watch.

Yumi suddenly wondered what it would be like to have a child with Tsubasa and then found herself furiously blushing at the thought. They hadn't even kissed yet and she was thinking such a thing? She stepped into the hallway and then stopped in surprise.

The hallway was as empty as the studio had been, the receptionist's desk was unmanned, the lounge was devoid of musicians drinking coffee and chatting, the whole place was silent.

A chill went through her and she pulled out her cell phone, dialing Tsubasa's number with fingers gone clumsy with fear.

"Oi," he answered in a distracted tone. She knew that he had a strategy session with Jun-sensei that evening and she could hear the sounds of the gym in the background.

"Tsubasa-chan, I am at the studio and something is very wrong," she found that she was whispering and she wasn't certain why.

"I am on my way." He hung up and she felt a jolt of relief go through her. Tsubasa's complete acceptance of her premonitions was still novel to her and she was deeply grateful for not having to explain what she was feeling to him. His trust in her, she realized, was as great as her trust in him.

Had she not been feeling like an appetizer at a party, she would have found the thought quite enchanting. She moved slowly down the hallway heading for the stairs. She had glanced at the elevator, but the idea of a tiny box she couldn't get out of did not appeal to her just then.

"You are surely of your grandmother's bloodline, child," a hollow voice drifted through the air and Yumi shivered again. She tamped down her fright and made herself think and move slowly and carefully. There was no point in panicking and doing something foolish. "You have her courage and her gifts," the voice continued.

Yumi had no idea what her grandmother had to do with anything, or why it made her a target for whatever was hunting her, but her curiosity was definitely placing very low on her priority list right then.

She reached the door to the stairwell and carefully grasped the handle, Tsubasa's description of being flung back from the door of Chi-chan's apartment ringing in her mind. She was glad that he had the power to make healing potions, but she would rather not have to use one today.

"You can of course, escape from me, but if you do, everyone in this building will be destroyed." The voice was cold, calculating and had no trace of compassion in it. Yumi had no doubt that it was quite serious.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, her hand dropping from the door handle.

"Powerful magics surround you, the spell that sent your soul back in time to be reborn is very strong and very ancient. I want the book that spell comes from." Yumi shivered. The voice had filled with a hunger and avarice that was completely inhuman. "If you allow me to trace the spell back to that book, I will spare the people in this building."

"What do I have to do?" Yumi was proud that her voice didn't waver at all, but the fear inside of her was growing. Whatever was wanted of her, she doubted she would like it.

"Just give me your soul!" The last word was a scream and Yumi's voice joined it as she felt herself being ripped apart from the inside. Like the dissolution she had suffered from Siren, she was being destroyed again and her heart constricted in agony.

"Tsubasa!" she shrieked and then she knew nothing else.

Running up the stairwell, his family only a few steps behind him, her scream made Tsubasa's heart stutter in his chest.

"Yumi!" he called and ran faster, terror for her gripping him.

He burst through the stairwell door, Kai right on his heels and saw Yumi, laying sprawled next to the door. Her skin was pale and her hands, when he grasped them were icy cold.

"Yumi!" he called to her again, pulling her up from the floor and cradling her against his chest. She lay in his arms, cold and still, and he felt a terrible rage rising up in him. "NO! I will not lose you again!" he hugged her to him reaching for his wand.

"She has served her purpose, Magician. I know where the book now lies." A hissing voice, devoid of gender, but with a tone of satisfaction in it, spoke from the air. "But do not think me cruel, boy, I have no use for her soul now, and no need to be burdened with it." Light flashed around Yumi and he felt her take a breath and shudder as life poured back into her body.

"Tsu-kun?" she murmured, groggy and dazed and he smiled into her eyes, charmed by the endearment.

"Yumi-chan," he answered and held her close again.

Kai, Houka, and Makito were moving out and searching through the hallway for the source of the mysterious voice, while their parents stood over Tsubasa and Yumi, guarding them while they were vulnerable.

"I wonder what book it was talking about?" Isamu muttered, obviously worried.

"It said that my soul had been sent back in time to be reborn," Yumi answered to Tsubasa's surprise. She pulled herself upwards in his arms, still holding tight to him, but looking at his parents with her face creased in worry. "It said that there was a powerful spell involved and it wanted the book that spell came from," she continued.

"Urara!" Miyuki cried and clapped her hands to her face in distress. "I knew that she was worried about Tsubasa, that she might have done something to help him…"

"Then the book must be one from Magitopia!" Isamu reasoned and then took off running down the stairs. Miyuki and the others ran after him.

"Tsubasa, go help Urara-san!" Yumi urged when he made no move to follow after. He was holding her tightly still and found he could not bring himself to leave her side.

"I don't want to leave you alone!" he answered, feeling near to tears from coming so close to losing her again.

"She will not be alone, Tsubasa-kun," a familiar voice called out to him and they turned to see Yumi's grandmother coming up the stairs.

"Grandmother!" Yumi blinked in surprise.

"Pardon, but if danger returns how will you protect her?" Tsubasa asked dubiously.

"Like this!" She waved her hand and Tsubasa found himself outside the studio standing beside his family.

"Eh? What about Yumi-san?" Kai asked him in surprise as he headed towards his broom.

Transforming into his suit, Tsubasa got astride his broomstick and looked back at his family.

"I left her with someone reliable," he informed them and then lifted off.

Urara looked deeply into her son's eyes and smiled in purest joy. Everything was so full of wonderment for her right now. Hikaru was standing by the window, watching her feed their child, a small smile curving his lips. He was disheveled and tired looking, neither one of them had been getting much sleep since the baby had been born, but she thought that he had never looked as handsome or dear to her as he did just them.

Their eyes met in a mutual moment of shared joy and Urara decided that her life was absolutely perfect.

The scream of rage that echoed through Magitopia startled them both and Urara nodded to her husband as he hesitated by the window. He returned the nod and then leapt out and his rug zipping towards him flew up and away.

Tsubasa was still puzzling over Maeda-san's mysterious teleportation ability when they arrived in Magitopia.

Unlike in their previous visit, there was no serene calm pervading the floating islands, instead the Heavenly Saints were in turmoil. The Saints were flying hither and yon in a greatly agitated state. Above everything Heavenly Arch Saint Magiel's shouting could be heard quite clearly.

"We must keep searching! Unless you want a disaster to occur?" Her voice was heavy with anger and sarcasm and Tsubasa was glad that he wasn't the one receiving her scolding.

"I think we know where to go first," Isamu informed them and grimly the family nodded back at him. They headed straight up to the Heavenly Temple, following the sounds of Magiel's shouts.

Landing on the pristine white surface of the floating island, they quickly jumped off of their brooms and headed inside.

Tsubasa was used to the reception hall being a vast open space with white walls, pillars and a sense of peace and quiescent power. Just then though, it was in an uproar, Magiel was gesticulating and shouting, Lunagel was running around looking frantic and Hikaru, with several other Heavenly Saints, was overturning furniture and looking under rugs.

"I have a suspicion we have arrived too late," Miyuki murmured and they stepped forwards.

"Magiel, what has happened?" Isamu had slipped into his Blagel form, seeming the personification of flame and courage, when he spoke his voice had an added depth that made Tsubasa shiver a little. He could forget sometimes, when they were sitting around the table eating breakfast that his father was an immortal Heavenly Saint and then something like this would happen and it would be driven home again to him.

"Blagel! The library has been ransacked, Magitopia's treasures have been gone through and we don't know yet what was stolen!" She was quite angry, Tsubasa noticed, her usually white garments were tinged with red and he wasn't sure quite what that meant.

"Calm yourself, we have a good idea of what has been taken," Blagel informed her and the room stilled as all eyes turned to them.

"Well, will you share you knowledge with us?" Magiel asked, calming visibly but still seeming agitated and uneasy.

"It was a book that contained a spell to send a soul back through time to be reborn," he answered and Magiel gaped at him and then frowned.

"I did not know such a book existed," she sighed and looked somewhat embarrassed by the admission.

"It must be one of the most ancient texts, something that pre-dates even Chronos' mastery of time magics," Lunagel interjected and Magiel nodded.

"How do you know this?" Magiel now asked.

"Because that spell was used to send the soul of Mamiya Rei back in time so that she could be re-born as Yumi-san," he admitted and Magiel frowned.

"But who could have done such a thing? Who could have broken the laws of Magitopia like that?" Magiel demanded.

"Uh, um…I think that was me." They all turned to find Urara standing in the archway, looking rather sheepish.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Fox in the Henhouse

"Why doesn't this surprise me?" Magiel grumbled and glared down at her sister-in-law. Urara held her small son in her arms and looked back at her nervously.

"Urara!" Hikaru looked at his wife in shock and anger. She turned her head to him and a look of irritation passed over her face. Tsubasa wondered if he needed to go to his sister's aid, but she turned and defended herself quickly.

"I didn't know I was breaking any laws! I found the spell in an old book in the library and it wasn't chained up or anything, it looked like all the other spell books, just older," she shrugged and Hikaru opened his mouth and then shut it again.

"There was nothing special about it?" Magiel asked and stooped forwards to stare at Urara through her spectacles.

"Besides the fact that it was old and the pages were stiff and dusty, no, it looked like all the other books," she informed them and Magiel frowned.

"Do you remember any other spells that were in it?" Hikaru asked with an abstracted air, he was obviously thinking hard. Urara relaxed a little, apparently glad not to be the focus of her husband's anger. Tsubasa was just happy they had turned their attention away from Yumi; he wasn't sure what he would do if Magiel demanded the spell be undone. He wasn't sure it could be undone actually. While he puzzled over that, he missed some of the conversation as Urara closed her eyes and tried to recall the spell book's other contents.

Yumi was the one who found the closet where the Receptionist and several musicians were snoring and woke them up. They looked puzzled and embarrassed and wandered off home with slightly dazed expressions. It was her grandmother who found Chi-chan and the rest of the staff, sleeping in one of the offices, and chivvied them up and out. The tone of authority she was able to generate and the natural reverence they felt for her age and rank quickly had the whole group moving and out the door.

Yumi looked at her grandmother for a long moment and then firmly invited her home for tea.

The precise ritual of tea making soothed Yumi's lacerated nerves and by the time she placed the little cakes and biscuits in front of her grandmother and poured the tea, she was calm and focused once more.

The old woman's eyes followed her with both amusement and interest and Yumi wondered if her mother had gone mad under the scrutiny, or if she had just always been a little off.

"I suspect that you have a few questions." Black eyes sparkled as she asked and Yumi restrained a momentary feeling of anger.

"Why did mother dump Tsukade Jun?" she found herself asking, her conversations with Tsubasa echoing in her mind.

"Because he could see ghosts," she replied promptly and Yumi blinked. "Your mother wanted nothing more than to be as normal as possible. She married your father because he couldn't see anything mystical at all and was perfectly happy in his laboratory with his quarks."

Yumi thought this over carefully. She sipped her tea and turned her memories around and around, seeing patterns, clues, and moments of unease settling into new shapes before her. Her abilities had always been a bone of contention with her mother. She had been taught since childhood to hide her premonitions, her dreams, to ignore the things that she could see from the corners of her eyes. Her mother had been extremely angry when Yumi had found that lost child in kindergarten and forbidden her from exercising her talents in public again.

"Yet, you are not normal," she accused, but with a small smile that acknowledged her own strangeness. Her grandmother chuckled and gave her an answering smile.

"I fell in love with your grandfather," she replied and it seemed a non sequitur, but Yumi merely sipped her tea again waiting to see where she was headed with this. Her grandmother smiled, as if she had passed some sort of test, and started speaking again. "I wish you could have known him, Yu-chan, he was quite the most wonderful man ever, your young man reminds me a little of him, in fact," she murmured and Yumi blinked in surprise.

"I met him in the mountains, near my lake, he was hiking and fell straight into my waters, when the rocks slipped," she smiled and Yumi guessed she was seeing a past long gone. "I rescued him and he left, none the wiser, I thought, but he came back the next week and walked up to the water and thanked me."

"You're not human, are you?" Yumi asked it calmly. A few weeks ago she might have been shocked by the thought, but after all that had happened it seemed obvious. Her grandmother's face crinkled into a smile.

"I am a lake dragon," she confirmed and Yumi swallowed her tea rather more forcefully than she had meant to.

"Ah, of course," she replied once she was certain she would not choke, if her voice had a certain wry resignation it was ignored by the old woman. She sighed to herself because really, after kappa, magicians, spider women et al, a dragon was really all that was lacking.

"I left my lake to be with your grandfather, for I loved him very much and then, after his death I stayed because you seemed to have inherited abilities from me that I thought you might need some help with someday." Her voice was placid, but underneath it Yumi could hear a grief and longing that called to her.

"I remember how irritated mother was when I didn't need the swim lessons she paid for, they put me in the water and I just knew what to do." The memory was an old one and the childhood puzzlement over how she had managed to earn her mother's ire that time had lingered.

"If she inherited any of my abilities, your mother never displayed them," came the extremely diplomatic answer.

"So, what now?" she asked finally and her grandmother shrugged, a mere shifting of her shoulders, yet eloquent in its lack of any ideas.

"I suppose that we have some tea and eat these lovely cakes," she answered. Yumi poured more tea for them both and listened as her grandmother explained many things to her.

Magiel, Lunagel, his father, and Hikaru all had their heads together, trying to puzzle over the fragments of spells that Urara had recalled. None of them could think of a spell book that old containing such spells. Tsubasa himself found the weird conglomeration of magics rather baffling as well. Most spell books were written on a theme, this was a mishmash of different types of spell all thrown together in a seemingly random order, unless, of course, Urara simply was remembering them in a random way.

"Should we ask Snowgel?" Isamu wondered as they hit a dead end.

"I suppose that we could wait until the thief uses a spell and then trace it through that?" Kai suggested, though even he sounded dubious. There was a general feeling of negation that followed as they tried to figure out what to do next.

"Magiel-sama!" one of the lesser Heavenly Saints ran forward from the library, something in his hand. He bowed low before the Arch Saint and handed to her an object that was invisible to the rest of them. She stared at it for a long time and then she frowned in a manner so fearsome that the messenger backed away from her with alacrity.

"What is it?" Hikaru asked into the sudden silence.

"The tail fur of a fox," she answered and her anger was a palpable force in the room.

"Kitsune," Isamu muttered and rolled his eyes.

"The problem with them is that until you can get a look at one, you can't be certain if it's good, or evil," Hikaru was explaining. "And even the good ones can be…mischievous, if they are bored."

"It did say that it wasn't cruel," Tsubasa put in, reminding them all of the conversation in the hallway. "It could have left Yumi dead and soulless, but it didn't." The memory made him feel cold al of a sudden and he went to stand in the warm sunshine coming through the window of Hikaru and Urara's house.

They had adjourned there to discuss the theft without being drowned out by the irritated muttering of Magiel.

"A point in its favor," Isamu conceded. "But to steal a book from the Magitopia library does go beyond the usual sort of pranks one expects," he added with a frown.

"Perhaps it had a reason?" Urara asked quietly from where she was rocking the baby to sleep. Tsubasa got up and went over to her, realizing that he hadn't even talked with her about Yumi. She busied herself with the baby and seemed surprised when he dropped a kiss on her head. Startled, she looked up at him.

"Thank you, by the way," he murmured and she smiled that dazzlingly bright smile, so like their mother's.

"You look so much happier, I'm glad," she returned and Tsubasa ruffled her hair, touched by how far his sister had been willing to go to help him.

"I am happy," he admitted, letting himself feel it for a moment, to just be content knowing that Yumi was waiting for him, still alive, still his. It was a wonderful feeling. "I didn't know how unhappy I was until she came back into my life." It was an admission that surprised him as much as it did her. He shrugged, letting the moment of vulnerability fade and turned back to the conversation.

"But the list of spells that Urara recalled all seem fairly innocuous," Miyuki sighed. "There is nothing in them that seems special or important."

"Except for the one that nee-chan used," Kai reminded them and they all frowned.

"The Kitsune did seem very interested in Yumi-chan," Makito added. "Maybe there is someone that he lost that he wishes to be reborn?"

A silence descended on them all. Tsubasa thought about how empty his life had been before Yumi had re-entered it, could he deny someone suffering the same surcease from pain? He knew that he couldn't and vowed silently, that if it were the case, he would not interfere in the Kitsune's spell. It would be both cruel and hypocritical, after all.

"If that is so, I understand and sympathize," Isamu replied. "All we are really obligated to do, is get the book back to the library, everything else is really outside of our responsibility." They all nodded and Tsubasa smiled softly, hiding it by turning away a little. His father was a deeply compassionate person and they all knew that he would not stop the Kitsune from using the spell, or punish it for having done so.

"It's a moot point anyway," Hikaru grumbled and ran a hand through his hair. "We have no idea where the Kitsune could have gone with the book!"

"I might have an idea about that, actually," Urara mentioned, and jerked her chin towards the crystal ball in the corner of their living room. Handing the baby to Miyuki, she pulled out her wand.

"So these premonitions can be controlled?" Yumi blurt out in surprise.

"Of course, with proper training your sixth sense can be honed to a much greater sensitivity and you can use it for far more than you can yet imagine." Her grandmother's placid tones and easy assurance did not actually make Yumi feel better. Part of her was furious at her mother for denying her the benefits of her heritage; the other part was wondering why grandmother hadn't pressed the issue sooner.

"It seems this would have been useful when I was younger," she suggested, trying to not sound ungracious.

"Yes well, I wanted you to be able to make a choice freely," Kimiko replied and there was a tension underneath her words that made Yumi pay close attention. "I often felt that your mother rebelled against her heritage as much because I tried to push her so hard. Her abilities never manifested and I think my disappointment showed a little." It was a hard admission for the proud woman and Yumi knew it. She merely poured more tea for her without comment.

After all, what could she say that they both hadn't thought a thousand times before? Yukio wasn't an easy person to get along with and Kimiko was herself somewhat thorny, together they were oil and water.

Yumi wondered if it was the seed of Rei in her, that made her more kind and gentle than her mother, or if it were something else entirely. How much of who she was was dependant on the soul of the dead idol singer and how much was because of genes and family? Did it matter? She let out her breath slowly, releasing the thought. She was herself, she was the girl Tsubasa cared for and that was wonderful beyond words.

"I choose to be in Tsubasa's world," Yumi informed her grandmother who nodded.

"That is the same choice I made for myself, to be in your grandfather's world with him." Kimiko looked down into her teacup as though the past was playing out in its depths. "I have never regretted that choice."

Yumi nodded, she knew that it wasn't a choice that she would regret either.

Urara, head bent over the crystal ball, black robes falling across the white wood of the chair, had a frown line etched between her eyes. Tsubasa stood patiently by, more interested in watching the clouds drift by below them then joining Houka and Kai as they peered into the ball hoping to glimpse something of what Urara could see there.

"I see a farm in the countryside," Urara commented. "I see a farmer getting into his truck, taking his rice to market, it looks like." She ran a hand across her brow, looking tired and Tsubasa wondered how much sleep she was getting with the new baby. "Ah! No, watch out!" she cried and then leaned back from the chair in distress.

"Urara!" Hikaru moved to her side and she looked up at him with a small tear falling down her cheek.

"He hit them, they must have died instantly," she murmured.

"Hit who?" their father asked and Urara shook her head, as if to clear it of her vision.

"The kits, two little foxes," she explained and they all looked startled and then sad as well.

"It's children, perhaps?" Tsubasa suggested. Urara shook her head in confusion rather than negation.

"I don't know for sure, I couldn't see anything after that."

"There was a minor curse spell in the book as well, maybe it wants revenge?" Kai asked, but Miyuki shook her head.

"If the Kitsune is their mother she would care more for their lives than for vengeance, I think."

"But," Isamu put in, "mother or father, vengeance could be a goal as well."

"I don't think that it is out for vengeance, it never really hurt anyone. It scared some people but even the spider woman didn't harm any of her captives and that is not normal for them." Tsubasa mused aloud, thinking back, the only time he was harmed was when he tried to get to Yumi through the warded door, and while that had hurt, it hadn't killed him. He'd been scared and angry, but he wondered suddenly if they had even been in any real danger.

"If this Kitsune can call upon an ally such as the spider woman and control it enough to keep it from feeding on its victims, then it is old and powerful indeed." Hikaru added with a frown that matched his wife's.

"I think that I could find that farm again, if needed," Urara suggested, but Hikaru shook his head.

"You should stay here with the baby, while I do some research on the Kitsune," Hikaru smiled at her and headed off back to Magitopia's library no doubt.

Tsubasa cocked his head and thought while the rest of his family discussed their next move. A sudden yearning overtook him and he sighed.

"I'm going to go check on Yumi-chan," he informed them and headed for his broom. He was oblivious to his family's smiles and fond glances as he left, which was probably good, because the urge to hit Kai for the way he was laughing would have been hard to overcome.

Yumi concentrated and controlled her breathing as her grandmother's voice guided her through the labyrinth of her own senses.

"I can feel the neighbor moving around next door and something strong moving fast towards us…" she broke off as she realized what she was sensing. "Tsubasa!" she cried and her eyes flew open as she ran for the front door.

Her grandmother's amused chuckle was lost in the sound of her own cry of delight as her magician returned, eyes alight and smile tender. Framed by the open doorway he was wind blown and looked both tired and happy. Her heart stuttered just looking at him and she was quickly lost in his gaze.

"Well, let the poor boy come in, Yu-chan! Don't just stand there grinning at him!" her grandmother's words recalled her to life and she laughed as she stepped aside and let him in.

"Sorry!" she answered, but he just shook his head and took her hand in his.

"You're all right now?" he asked as they walked to the living room.

"Fine." She left her smile be her assurance and left him to bow to grandmother as she got another cup and plate for him. She set the water to boil again, since she was pretty certain the tea had gone cold by now.

"A Kitsune? That explains much," she heard her grandmother answer Tsubasa and she blinked in startlement. "I knew a family of them over by Lake Biwa, sweet and charming folk, but always up to some game or another," she chuckled and Yumi's lips turned up at the sound of it. "One day they are leaving rabbits for a lost traveler and the next they are putting burs in a sleeping man's hair." Yumi could sense rather than see the shrug that accompanied that statement and smiled more broadly.

"You'll have your hands full if you are going after one!" she warned.

"We just want the book back, the Kitsune hasn't hurt anyone, not really, so there is nothing for us to bother with there," Tsubasa replied and Yumi opened her mouth to protest before closing it again. No one had actually been hurt after all. Threats weren't the same as actual harm, after all. She wasn't sure now that they hadn't been empty threats anyway. She'd been so scared that she hadn't dared test the mysterious voice.

Maybe the fearsome voice had been full of sound and fury, but signifying nothing? It was an interesting thought.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Fox Fire

She set the teapot down on the table and poured them all another cup. She wasn't sure just how much tea she was capable of drinking, but it seemed to be soothing her in some way, so she just decided to ignore the oddness of the situation.

After all, her grandmother had turned out to be a Lake Dragon; surely nothing else could compete in the oddity department. Explaining that had been interesting and Tsubasa had taken it extremely well, though finding out that his father and brother in law were Heavenly Saints (whatever that meant) and his future sister in law was a tree kami went far to explain his nonchalance on the subject.

"So you think the Kitsune wanted to reincarnate a soul as apparently your sister did with my granddaughter?" Laying the situation out had required some confessions on Tsubasa's part as well and Yumi could see that he felt awkward. The feelings he had had for Mamiya Rei were deeply personal to him and he wasn't someone who opened his heart easily. She gently reached for his hand, wishing she could give him some respite from the storms that had been rocking them both.

"Yes, ma'am," Tsubasa answered, his fingers warm around hers. He shot her a glance filled with tenderness and affection and she smiled back at him, deeply glad just to be in the same place with him.

"Then I suggest you do as the Kitsune did and use the spiritual resonance of Yumi-chan's soul to lead you to the book." The matter of fact manner in which her grandmother stated this made Yumi blink in shock. Have her soul taken out again? It had been terrifying and awful the first time, she wasn't certain that she was ready to have it happen again!

"Maeda-san!" Tsubasa protested, bolting up in shock, but the elderly woman merely waved him back to his seat with a chuckle.

"I don't mean in the same way as the Kitsune did, Tsubasa-kun," she laughed and the two young people both relaxed. "The fox only had a short time to accomplish its aims, so used the most time efficient method, that it was also a dangerous and clumsy spell shows both desperation and lack of proper training." There was disapproval in her voice now and she frowned, muttering "Youma these days…"

"I take it that you know another and better way?" Tsubasa asked her; now visibly calmer than he had been a moment before.

"Oh at least a dozen ways, but a glass of water will do fine for this." On that cryptic note, Kimiko rose and wandered off to the kitchen. Tsubasa and Yumi exchanged puzzled glances as she returned with a glass of water and some strips of paper.

She set the paper down and picked up the glass, looking deeply into it as though divining from a crystal ball.

"Give me your hand, Yumi-chan," she murmured and Yumi obediently extended her fingers out to her. Grandmother grasped her wrist and dipped her fingertips into the water. It changed color just a bit, to become a deeper blue and Yumi blinked in surprise. "I suspect it was the water association that pulled her soul to us," her grandmother mused aloud and then with her own finger wrote some characters on the paper with the blue-tinged liquid from the glass.

"Rei, you mean?" Tsubasa asked, apparently following her grandmother's logic better than Yumi was able to.

"Hm? Ah, yes, a soul will not re-incarnate into a family it feels no affinity for, even if propelled by magic," she explained and for some reason, her words made Yumi feel better, the worry that somehow she wasn't properly of her family vanished. The paper fluttered a bit and then the water flowed across it to make an arrow in the left corner. "There, follow that and you should find the book"

"Thank you, Maeda-san," Tsubasa answered carefully picking up the paper.

"Ah well, perhaps you should practice at calling me grandmother, since you will no doubt be marrying my granddaughter sooner or later." Kimiko managed to sound off-hand about it, but Yumi could see the tiny smile she was trying to hide behind a teacake.

Tsubasa smiled at her and bowed with great respect before waving good-by to Yumi and heading out the door.

She watched him go with a sigh, she knew that she would only be a burden to him in combat, but she still wished that she could follow after him.

"He'll be back, you are a magnet, child, that will always draw him home." There was something in her words that sounded odd, almost as if she were a little sad, but her face was impassive when Yumi turned to look at her and so she said nothing.

Tsubasa left the apartment with something akin to pain. Leaving her again so soon was hard for him to do. Duty called though and he had to help his family retrieve that book. Maeda-san's words lingered in his mind making him wonder just what he did want for Yumi and himself. He hadn't been thinking of marriage before he met Yumi. He had been focused on his career, but the thought of letting her go was too painful for words. He had a momentary vision of waking up beside her and the quiet joy and the rush of desire that washed through him at the thought nearly made him stumble.

As soon as Aniki and Sakura-san were married, he would have to start thinking about his future with Yumi. How would they mesh their schedules and careers, could they make this work with both of them so dedicated to their own goals? Whatever they had to do they would do, he decided, they would find a way to make this work.

He pushed all those thoughts aside and focused on the paper in his hand. Calling his family on the Magiphone, he found a quiet spot and summoned his broom.

Following the arrow proved easy from the air, he pointed his broom in the right direction and they flew that way. Tsubasa didn't know much about Dragons, Lake or otherwise, but Maeda-san's magic seemed very strong. That she had been able to create this direction spell from the mere touch of Yumi's fingertips was impressive.

His father must think so too, because after seeing it, he had become quiet and thoughtful.

Her grandmother had left shortly after Tsubasa and Yumi had settled down at her piano. Her fingers idly plucked the keys as she thought.

Marriage to Tsubasa was a far more appealing thought than she really wanted to face just then. She was only twenty years old and she hadn't really thought of marriage as an option for herself before this. For all that she had known her parents loved each other and in their own way were happy together, she still hadn't wanted what she saw between them for herself.

Her grandfather had died when she was only a few months old and she wondered if witnessing his marriage to her grandmother would have changed her views on the subject. Obaa-san seemed to have loved her husband very deeply and the wistful longing her face and voice when she spoke of him told Yumi all she needed to know about their relationship.

Tsubasa had assured her that he didn't want her to give up her career to be with him, but she pondered how her time on tours, performing concerts, or in the studio would conflict with his boxing career. She already found it acutely painful to be parted from him for even a few days, how would she feel if she had to be gone months on tour? Her heart twisted inside her at the thought and her hands crashed down on the keyboard making an unmelodious jangling.

She took a deep breath. She was getting ahead of herself. He hadn't even asked her to marry him, after all. He probably had all sorts of things to think over as well, it wasn't the kind of decision one made lightly after all.

Not that what they felt for each other was something she took lightly. A magnet to him, her grandmother had called her, but the reverse was true as well. She was inexorably drawn to him, had been all of her life.

She closed her eyes and saw him again through Rei's eyes, saw him crying, falling brokenly to the ground, as she was drawn up and away from him. It had hurt more than she could express to be the cause of such pain for him. She remembered the look of despair and panic on his face being replaced by joy and relief as she blinked awake again, her soul returned to her by the Kitsune.

Leaving him was not an option for her; they needed each other far too much. The bond between them was too strong for her to deny it. When they did decide to marry, they would just have to find a way to make it work.

She didn't know that she had followed Tsubasa's own thoughts and reasoning and come to the same conclusion that he had, but she knew that she had found some peace at last. Wherever he was would always and forever be home to her now.

They were pulled inexorably across Tokyo and into the mountains. Fuji-san rose off to the North of them and felt the sharper cold of the mountain air biting into their uniforms.

Tsubasa was a city boy by nature, but he couldn't see the beauty and grandeur of the mountains without feeling a touch of awe. They were led to a valley surrounded by hills and near a small lake. The arrow jerked in his hand and suddenly was pointing downward and so they descended.

The book was sitting on a rock in a small field of flowers. It was set out in plain sight and there was no one around that they could see. Isamu picked it up and looked around the field for a moment before he sighed. The field was lovely and peaceful and Tsubasa could feel no danger or malice in it.

"Well, we have the book back, that should please Magiel," he commented and Miyuki nodded, though her head was craning about.

"I just hope everything will be all right now," she fretted and Isamu smiled at her.

"I just hope that Yumi-chan is safe now," Tsubasa muttered and Makito nodded.

"I don't suppose that we will ever find out what was really going on," Kai groused and they all just shrugged and mounted their brooms. AS he was rising above the trees Tsubasa looked back and for a moment he could have sworn that a fox with two kits was frolicking in the field behind him, but he blinked and it was empty once more.

Magiel was pleased to have the book returned, but less than pleased to have the thief remain at large, the Ozu family slipped away while she was making plans for better magical security for the library.

When he fell into bed that night, Tsubasa was beyond exhausted, but even the memory of his brief conversation with Yumi on the cell phone made him feel both happy and content.

Yumi patted her hair one more time and tried not to feel too nervous. After all, it wasn't her wedding; she was just playing for it. She had let Chi-chan dress her and do her hair again, since the younger girl seemed to love to treat her as a dress up doll. She smiled at the memory of the shopping trip that had preceded it, the word "whirlwind" didn't do it justice.

She stepped out to the piano and settled down in front of it and then watched the priest. When it was time for the ceremony to start, he would nod at her and then she would begin to play.

Makito, with Kai and Tsubasa as his groomsmen, stood waiting in their tuxedos. Tsubasa looked especially handsome and their eyes met bringing smiles to both their faces. The priest nodded and Yumi began to play.

Sakura had disliked the traditional wedding march and several hours of Yumi playing every piece of music she could think of for her had resulted in the tree kami choosing Vivaldi's Spring from the Four Seasons as her choice. Yumi had called two friends who were skilled in violin and together they had quickly worked the piece to fit as a wedding march.

Sakura appeared at the door to the church, her white gown and veil seeming to be the merest flourishes against her own natural beauty and Yumi smiled as Makito's face turned soft and loving at the sight of her. She moved up the aisle, her hands filled with overflowing cherry blossoms and her own face alight with happiness.

The ceremony passed without incident, though she found herself blushing every time that Tsubasa looked at her. When Makito and Sakura kissed, she blushed again, since the passion between them was anything but restrained.

The reception was a boisterous affair, and Yumi was surprised at how few of the human guests seemed to notice the oddity of Sakura's "family". Her mother, a taller version of Sakura, in a kimono of pink silk with honeybees and cherry blossoms on it, was quite gracious and sweet, if obviously baffled by the whole celebration. Her "Father", was apparently the God of the Forest, though Yumi wasn't certain that the title hadn't been some sort of joke by Kai-kun, who had been the one to tell her that.

Looking at him, though, stately, elegant, and rather tall, she wasn't certain that Kai-kun had been joking. There was something ancient, inhuman, and very powerful about him that made the little hairs on her neck stand up.

Yumi's natural shyness took over at the reception, and she stood beside Tsubasa, happy to fade into his shadow a bit. Most people here were friends of the Ozu family, so aside from the necessity of introductions, she wasn't expected to know many people or to speak a great deal. She found that very comforting.

The band for the night was a little odd as well, she thought. A pair of young girls, in Gothic Lolita wear, who sang and played with a costumed back up band seemed a strange choice, but Tsubasa said the girls were friends of theirs, and playing the wedding was their gift to Makito and Sakura. They seemed to be having a great time though, and the guests didn't seem to find them too strange, so maybe she just wasn't used to weddings with less formality than the ones her mother used to drag her too.

Or maybe it was just that the wedding of a Tree Kami and a Magician was bound to be a little different.

They waved and shouted as the young couple climbed into the limo and drove away. Standing there beside Tsubasa seemed so right and natural that she didn't realize that they were happily chattering together, all her previous shyness fleeing before the warmth of his gaze, until she spotted the surprised look on the face of one of the guests. After all the time she had been nearly silent, it must be strange for them to see her so open and unguarded with Tsubasa. She stammered to a stop in the conversation and suddenly felt very exposed and vulnerable.

"You all right?" he asked and his eyes were full of concern and caring. She smiled up at him with a feeling of love and tenderness. He put a hand under her elbow and steered her away from the prying eyes of the wedding guests and into a small garden outside the hotel. Surrounded by hedges and with rose trellises arching above them, it was both private and lovely.

"I never feel as self-conscious and shy around you as I do with other people. I talk more to you than I have ever spoken to anyone in my whole life, except maybe my father," she admitted. "Sometimes I catch people looking at me though and I get a little flustered."

He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips and she felt herself blushing bright pink. It wasn't entirely embarrassment, but the sudden rush of warmth and desire had surprised her a bit.

"I'm glad that you trust me, Yu-chan, that you talk to me." It was his turn to look a little discomfited now, as though he hadn't planned the kiss or expected the tumult of emotions it left behind. Her heart was flip-flopping about in her chest and when he leaned down to kiss her again she leaned into him and became a willing participant.

Fireworks, she thought dreamily, as he held her close, it wasn't as clichéd as the old movies had made it seem. His kiss was sweeter than honey, warmer than the sun on her skin, gentler than a breeze, but with the promise of something deeper and more intense behind it.

When he reluctantly pulled back, she felt as though the whole universe had been rearranged around her and now suddenly everything was strange and new.

He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, pressing it into her palm and then moving away abruptly, as though he was anxious about something.

Puzzled, she opened her hand and stared down at the diamond ring that glittered in her palm. Her vision blurred and she realized that her eyes had teared up. With trembling fingers she slipped the ring on her hand and then walked up behind Tsubasa and wrapped her arms around him.

"I do trust you, and I love you," she murmured into his back. He turned in her arms and pulled her tight against his chest.

"I love you, too," he whispered into her hair and she felt as though after a lifetime of drifting she had finally come home to stay.


End file.
